Leicester City news from LeicestershireLive as Harry Souttar addresses his future after helping Australia to an emphatic World Cup qualifying win over Bangladesh
Harry Souttar has vowed to stay and fight for his place at Leicester City after finding his chances limited under Enzo Maresca so far.
Souttar has made only one Championship appearance for Leicester this season, plus one start in the League Cup. He is currently behind the first-choice centre-back pair of Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes in the pecking order.
This is inevitably led to question marks over the future of a player who only joined the Foxes from Stoke City in a £15million deal in January. However, Souttar does not plan to seek a move – even a loan – in search of more game time when the transfer window opens at the turn of the year.
“I definitely want to stay and fight for my place, for sure,” he told the Australian Associated Press. “Obviously, I know it’s difficult with the results we’ve been having.
“But I’ve had a good couple of conversations with the manager and he knows that whenever he needs me, I’ll be 100 per cent ready.
“They’re flying at the moment, top of the league, so it’s hard to get in. But all I can do is keep my training levels up, keep my fitness levels up, and, when called upon, be ready and hopefully perform well.”
Souttar was speaking to the media after helping Australia to a 7-0 win over Bangladesh in a World Cup qualifier at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Thursday. The 25-year-old opened the scoring for the Socceroos with a towering header.
The Scotland-born defender is hoping to repay the faith shown in him by national boss Graham Arnold. And he will be looking to get more minutes under his belt at Leicester before the Asian Cup in January, which would see him miss part of the Championship campaign.
“I feel fortunate that I’ve got the boss backing me and keeping his faith in me even though I’ve not been playing football. I know that,” he added. “He’s been very good with me and to me in terms of starting me in games when I’ve not been playing club football.
“It’s kind of a frustrating time but I can’t really complain too much because they (Leicester) are top of the league and the boys are flying. It’s just great to be back on the grass with the boys and I just love every minute of it.”
Leicester are top of the Championship after 16 matches, though only lead Ipswich Town on goal difference after going into the international break on the back of successive defeats.
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