Pearson Pleased As Strikers Step Up

For in the heat of City’s first top flight fixture in 10 years, two strikers at different stages of their Leicester City careers laid down their markers for the campaign ahead. And their manager could not have been more pleased for them.
For Leonardo Ulloa, a summer signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, an emphatic finish halfway through the first half represented a first return on a significant investment from his new Club. Ulloa is off and running.
For Chris Wood, a young man surrounded by intense speculation of a move away from Filbert Way in the last week, an 85th-minute equaliser represented a stark reminder of a goal-scoring instinct that cannot be dismissed. Wood is ready to fight for his place.
“To do well in the Premier League you have to score enough goals,” Pearson said simply after an entertaining 2-2 draw.
“We have scored a couple today but unfortunately we have also conceded a couple.
“It is encouraging for us that we have possibly not been at our best today but still been competitive.”
Pearson has said already this summer that keeping clean sheets in the Premier League, with its star-studded cast of blue-chip attacking players, is a far greater challenge than in the Championship. Scoring goals, then, will be the key to City’s hopes of establishing themselves in the league.
Ulloa’s debut strike, an opportunistic finish, relieves the expectation on a man Pearson feels will naturally be under greater expectation due to the investment City have made the 28-year-old Argentine.
“He has shown a lot of qualities,” Pearson said. “His strength and work rate may surprise a few people today. He is a real team player. Our players have very quickly recognised his strengths.
“When you become a club’s record signing there is an added pressure which goes with that. He has handled that very well.
“I don’t really think in terms of how much we have spent on someone. The perception in terms of the value is probably measured differently externally (to how I measure it).
“I am very pleased for Leo because he is a focal point in terms of how we play and he has a good scoring record. I am pleased he has got off the mark.”
At just 22, Wood has taken the speculation surrounding his future with admirable composure. Having entered the fray with 12 minutes to go at the weekend, the New Zealand international striker seized his opportunity with the poise of a Premier League goal scorer.
It should not be disregarded that Wood’s Leicester record of 22 goals in 54 appearances stands up well by any striker’s standards, particularly given that his opportunities were limited by the form of David Nugent and Jamie Vardy last season. His stunning introduction to life in a Leicester shirt, where he scored seven goals in his first five City games, was only 18 months ago.
Wood feels like he has plenty to offer. So does his manager.
“You have to remember with Chris that, although he is a 6ft 3in striker and he got his career here off to a flyer, he is still a young man.
“He has an awful lot to offer and to learn, but for him to have to go through a week or 10 days with that level of speculation, clear his head and respond in the way he did speaks volumes for his ability to put things behind him and carry on.
“It can be unsettling for an individual to be involved in speculation around their future but, at his age and bearing in mind he got off to an absolute flyer when he arrived here - you have to keep it in context.
“I am very pleased he was able to play his part in securing our first point in the Premier League.”