Castagne’s Maiden Year As A Fox
The Belgium international was officially confirmed as a Foxes player on 3 September, 2020, signing from Atalanta B.C. after helping the Bergamo club to reach the UEFA Champions League in consecutive seasons, by finishing third in Serie A.
To celebrate the full-back’s Leicester milestone, here’s a rundown of some stand-out memories from the last 12 months….
Debut delight
The defender could not have dreamt of a better introduction to the Premier League, scoring on his Leicester debut as the visitors recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion.
Castagne opened the scoring at The Hawthorns, getting his head to Belgium team-mate Dennis Praet’s cross, before a Jamie Vardy double – both coming from the penalty spot – secured all three points for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
A King Power Stadium welcome
Burnley were the opponents for Castagne’s home debut and although supporters were not inside the stadium for his first game on Filbert Way, he felt right at home from the off.
When Vardy laid the ball off for the 25-year-old inside the penalty box, he in turn played a first-time pass across to Harvey Barnes, who swept home the equaliser, immediately running over to celebrate with the Belgian.
City proceeded to make light work of increasing their advantage, eventually running out 4-2 winners.
A memorable Manchester win
One of the results of the season was undoubtedly City’s 5-2 scoreline at Etihad Stadium, made all the more impressive by Manchester City’s subsequent dominance in claiming the Premier League title.
Castagne played the full 90 minutes against the Citizens, adding another assist to his tally, as the Foxes extended their perfect away record in 2020/21, which would continue into November.
With the scores locked at 1-1, Castagne was picked out by fellow Belgium international Youri Tielemans down the right, before firing a low, first-time cross into the middle for Vardy to expertly flick into the back of the net.
Europa League bow
The Belgian started Leicester’s first-ever UEFA Europa League, tackling Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk on Filbert Way. It turned into a special European night for the Foxes with James Maddison, Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho all adding their names to the scoresheet.
Castagne himself played 82 minutes of the contest before making way for James Justin, and it would be his last action until the knockout stage, due to injury, though he had already made his contribution to Leicester topping Group G.
Home comforts
Reaching the business end of the season during April, City were in action at King Power Stadium twice in quick succession, against West Bromwich Albion and then Crystal Palace.
And the Arlon-born defender made a significant impact in both fixtures. Firstly aiding the 3-0 win over the Baggies by unselfishly setting up Vardy for the opener on 23 minutes, the hosts would add two further goals during a ruthless first half performance.
Four days later, on 26 April, Roy Hodgson’s Eagles held a slender lead heading into the second period, but Castagne struck five minutes after the interval to level matters, curling a sweet left-footed effort into the far corner, after being teed up by Iheanacho. The Nigerian forward then netted a stunning strike of his own to seal another home victory.
FA Cup glory
A day to remember for all Foxes around the world, 15 May, 2021 was the date the Club finally lifted the FA Cup trophy for the first time in their 137-year history.
Part of a solid backline that refused to be derailed by the early injury to Jonny Evans, Castagne was on the field throughout the momentous occasion at Wembley Stadium, with Tielemans etching his name into Foxes folklore by scoring a sublime winner.
Euro 2020
The versatile full-back was included in Belgium’s squad for UEFA EURO 2020 after playing his part in Leicester City’s second consecutive fifth place finish in the top-flight.
However, his tournament would come to an unfortunate end in the opening group game, suffering an eye injury during the first half of the Red Devils’ victory over Russia.
Following that injury, Castagne made his return in the Foxes’ 2-1 success at Norwich City last weekend, playing 79 minutes of the Carrow Road clash. There will be plenty more to come from the Belgium native in 2021/22.