Recapping The Development Squad’s Pre-Christmas Campaign

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Recapping The Development Squad’s Pre-Christmas Campaign

Leicester City’s Under-21s have entered their festive break from fixtures sitting mid-table in Premier League 2 after a positive four months of development in Seagrave and beyond.

2024-12-21T14:00+00:00

by Sam Jones

Published

21 Dec, 2024

Recapping The Development Squad’s Pre-Christmas Campaign

Leicester City’s Under-21s have entered their festive break from fixtures sitting mid-table in Premier League 2 after a positive four months of development in Seagrave and beyond.

Sam Jones

2024-12-21T14:00+00:00

Recapping The Development Squad’s Pre-Christmas Campaign

Leicester City’s Under-21s have entered their festive break from fixtures sitting mid-table in Premier League 2 after a positive four months of development in Seagrave and beyond.

Sam Jones

2024-12-21T14:00+00:00

Recapping The Development Squad’s Pre-Christmas Campaign

Leicester City’s Under-21s have entered their festive break from fixtures sitting mid-table in Premier League 2 after a positive four months of development in Seagrave and beyond.

Sam Jones

2024-12-21T14:00+00:00

Recapping The Development Squad’s Pre-Christmas Campaign

Leicester City’s Under-21s have entered their festive break from fixtures sitting mid-table in Premier League 2 after a positive four months of development in Seagrave and beyond.

Sam Jones

2024-12-21T14:00+00:00

The young Foxes, coached by Leon McSweeney, welcomed several fresh faces into the fold from the Under-18s over the summer, while the likes of Sammy Braybrooke, Ben Nelson, Wanya Marçal, Brandon Cover, Brad Young, Silko Thomas, Amani Richards and Chris Popov are all gaining vital senior experience out on loan.

It took a couple of weeks for the new-look Under-21s side to take shape and, following an opening day reverse to Southampton, a spirited performance at Burton Albion saw Leicester take the plaudits for an impressive performance against Football League opposition, despite their EFL Trophy campaign beginning with a defeat.

Liverpool were the first side to be conquered back in PL2, coming away from Merseyside with a 2-1 victory. City also got up and running in the Premier League Cup, beating Hull City on the road.

The good form continued back in Seagrave, with both Middlesbrough and Sunderland seen off, as a rampant Foxes outfit scored seven and conceded just once in four days on home soil.

A scoring spree in Seagrave.

Looking to gather further momentum, Blackburn Rovers ended that run at Ewood Park, before Chelsea also proved too strong for a youthful Under-21s outfit, either side of their narrow PL Cup loss to Nottingham Forest at LCFC Training Ground.

Beginning November by getting back to winning ways at home to Aston Villa, scoring three times within the first 23 minutes, it was a blistering display of attacking quality that included a third converted penalty of the league season from the ever-reliable Henry Cartwright.

The EFL Trophy continued to provide stern tests, no more so than at Northampton Town, where again a good showing wasn’t enough to take anything away from Sixfields Stadium. It was the same story against Notts County, unable to find a way through at Meadow Lane.

Moving across to another cup competition, a late showing at Coventry City rescued a point, with 17-year-old Josh King again the provider.

Although Hull City triumphed in the Premier League Cup clash, progress into the knockout stages was still possible and beating Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest 2-1 in their next encounter put Leicester in pole position for second spot, two points ahead of the Sky Blues prior to facing each other at the end of January.

Two rocks at the back for the young Foxes.

The Foxes then showed their powers of recovery in back-to-back PL2 matches. Jake Evans found the net to equalise at Wolverhampton Wanderers - his fourth in seven games - before captain Harvey Godsmark-Ford, who has led the side so well over the course of the first half of the season alongside centre-back partner Tom Wilson-Brown, scored the leveller against Everton.

That all leaves the Foxes youngsters in 14th position in the 26-team league table, on 14 points from 10 games. Scoring more times (19) and conceding fewer (16) than any other side in the bottom half of the division, City will be aiming to remain within the top-16 and secure a play-off spot.

Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Monga’s displays on the wing have caught the eye on occasion, as has Logan Briggs, while Harry French and Stevie Bausor shared responsibilities between the sticks, with fellow shot-stopper Jakub Stolarczyk recovering from his long-term injury to take a place in the side for the first time this season on Monday.

It may therefore be a three-way fight for the No.1 jersey when Crystal Palace visit LCFC Training Ground in the team’s return to league duties in the New Year, getting back to action on Friday 10 January, 2025, with further improvements in their sights.

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