Enzo Maresca has given Leicester City’s Harry Souttar and Patson Daka a lifeline by announcing that the end of the transfer window indicates a “reset.”
The deadline was reached on Friday night, and despite interest and being out of favour at the King Power Stadium, neither Souttar nor Daka left the club. So far, neither has played a single competitive minute.
Rangers were interested in Souttar, and the centre-back could have joined his brother John at Ibrox, but their failure to get a player out the door prevented a deal from happening. Daka’s move to Bournemouth fell through in the final hour of the transfer window.
While transfer markets in Belgium, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey remain open, the duo are unlikely to join City before January. However, if they do, Maresca has stated that they will be considered as part of his team.
When asked if any players who did not depart would return, he responded, “Yes.” When the transfer window closes, it’s like a reset, a restart for all the players who are still here.
“That’s what it is. If you want to leave, you don’t, and you stay because that’s what it is. It’s not due of myself, the club, or the player; it’s a combination of all of us. You must stay the time you resolve to go and do not depart.”
Because City has a squad of 29 senior players, nine will be missing each week. Three will most likely be goalkeepers, but six will be outfielders. Souttar, as well as
Conor Coady and Dennis Praet were also injured in the weekend’s loss to Hull, as were new recruit Tom Cannon and winger Marc Albrighton.
Daka may have the most difficult path to playing time, with Maresca typically playing with just one striker with Kelechi Iheanacho, Jamie Vardy, and Cannon above of him in the pecking order. With one more injury, Souttar could find himself on the bench. With Coady out, City’s back three is made up of Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard, and Callum Doyle, with James Justin and Ben Nelson serving as the first two back-ups.
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