Hamza Choudhury

Choudhury's Rise Through The Foxes Ranks

Hamza Choudhury is hard to miss from the stands. The afro and dynamic playing style make sure of that. His Leicester City story, on the other hand, is one used by staff in the Academy as a source of inspiration for the next generation at the Football Club's training ground.
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His tight bond with the Club dates back 14 years, when a young Hamza turned down East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest to join the Academy in 2005.

The latest chapter in his Leicester City story arrived last week, as the tough-tackling England Under-21s international signed a new four-year deal at King Power Stadium.

Nowadays, Choudhury, 21, is the only player of South Asian origin living in England, from a pool of around 4M people, to be playing Premier League football.

In a story told recently in Issue 8 of LCFCQ, the Club's official quarterly magazine, Hamza is the son of a Grenadian father and Bangladeshi mother.

Growing up around competitive siblings and cousins, Hamza's workmanlike attitude was developed from a young age on the training pitches at Belvoir Drive.

Academy coaches enjoy telling the story of how they would often have to apologise to parents for his robust playing style even as a youngster.

Choudhury would later play an invaluable role for the Under-18s side which reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup in 2014/15 for only the second time in the Club’s history.

He went on to captain the Club's Development Squad in Premier League 2 Division 1, while also wearing the armband as City's youngsters won the Main Cup at the HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens in 2017.

That success followed two productive loan spells with Burton Albion, who won promotion to the Championship with him in the side, as he made 28 appearances in both the second and third tiers.

Making the final step, however, can be difficult for youngsters who return to their parent clubs, but Hamza made it look easy when he impressed on his debut - a 2-0 League Cup win in 2017 over Liverpool.

Following a full Premier League bow at Burnley's Turf Moor shortly after, the Loughborough-based central midfielder has gradually cemented his status as an important first team presence.

Feature

The Hamza Choudhury Quiz!

Hamza Choudhury answers 10 questions about himself, following the announcement that he signed a new deal with the Football Club - how do you think he will do?

Later in 2018, meanwhile, Hamza registered an assist in the 3-1 win over Arsenal, while also going on to make 12 appearances in all competitions last term.

He was in the sides as the Foxes defeated both Chelsea and Manchester City over the festive period - a relentless figure in the heart of midfield, battling with Europe's elite players.

Four successive starts this season, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea, Sheffield United and Newcastle United - has once again underlined his speedy progress through the Club's ranks.

After signing a new contract with Leicester City last week, Hamza proclaimed: "I want to play at the highest level, and first and foremost, to secure my place in this team and hopefully we can break into the top six like we say. Hopefully we can win a trophy this season."

The crunching tackles, the relentless pursuit of the ball and his affection for the Club has endeared him to the Blue Army. Between now and 2023, don't be surprised to see that bond grow even stronger.

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