Promoted clubs: Leicester players to look out for

Adrian Clarke picks out players who could be key for Leicester City in 2024/25.

Stephy Mavididi

Leicester's exciting wingers played a pivotal role in their success last season, with Mavididi and on-loan Abdul Fatawu consistently elevating their teams’ performance levels.

Left-sided Mavididi will certainly be relishing the prospect of shining on the biggest stage.

The former Arsenal youngster, who joined from Montpellier last summer, was in brilliant form, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists.

He has quick feet, pace, creativity aplenty and shooting prowess, so top-flight right-backs will not relish 1v1s against him in the months ahead.

Mavididi bamboozles Watford's defence

Mavididi likes to stay wide, before slaloming his way infield on to his stronger right foot.

He scored several goals from those types of situation last season, routinely bending accurate shots towards the far corner.

His ball-carrying stats are top-class, so he will be encouraged to run at defenders in the season ahead.

Mavididi's attacking threat 23/24

Mavididi scored some important goals too, and his strikes were worth an extra 10 points to Leicester by the end of the season.

Always happy to take responsibility, the Foxes players regularly turned to the winger when they needed an injection of individual magic.

The 26-year-old will lose the ball cheaply on occasion or get caught in possession, but he is a player who can deliver match-changing moments.

When he is at his electric best, Mavididi is a very difficult player to contain.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

Academy graduate Dewsbury-Hall is Leicester's prize asset.

The central midfielder was marvellous throughout the Foxes’ title-winning campaign, scoring 12 times and creating 14 assists.

He is at his best driving forward in a box-to-box role as part of an midfield trio, but can also play in the No 10 position.

Dewsbury-Hall makes things happen, laying on 1.93 chances per 90 minutes from open play alone.

Dewsbury-Hall's deft assist for Vardy

Blessed with a terrific change of pace, and capable of running with the ball at speed - an asset which will help Leicester on counter-attacks this season - he can open up the pitch with one unstoppable surge down the middle.

Dewsbury-Hall's 58 chance-creating ball carries ranked him ninth in last season’s Championship.

Despite initially bursting on to the scene as an industrious ball-winning central midfielder, Dewsbury-Hall has developed into an attacking threat.

Dewsbury-Hall creativity in Champ 23/24

Dewsbury-Hall is like two players rolled into one for Leicester.

He will cover a lot of ground with his running, working exceptionally hard to regain possession for his side.

But beyond that, he also has the creative instincts and finishing ability of a top-quality forward player, scoring and creating goals for fun.

At 25, he is a senior player at King Power Stadium, and someone who is well-equipped to become a star at the highest level.

Mads Hermansen

Danish goalkeeper Hermansen is one of Leicester's key performers.

When his team-mates press high, he pushes into advanced positions to act as a "sweeper 'keeper", and his distribution is high-class.

Despite starring for a side who want to play out from the back, Hermansen is not afraid to attempt accurate longer passes into midfield or towards the flanks.

Indeed, in 2023/24 he ranked third among Championship 'keepers for the highest distance covered with progressive passing.

This quality is crucial to the way Leicester build attacks.

Strong shot-stopper

The highly rated 23-year-old is also a fabulous shot-stopper, who boasted an impressive 73.4 per cent save success rate last season. Only two 'keepers at that level had a better ratio.

This aspect of his game is sure to be tested on a far more frequent basis in the Premier League, where the Foxes will be less dominant.

Hermansen will have the full trust of his team-mates though, after producing a series of fantastic saves in his debut campaign.

Despite playing for the champions, it was Hermansen who prevented the most additional goals being scored last season.

Keeping out 6.7 extra goals, he proved to be a real difference-maker.

Hermansen v top Championship goalkeepers

Hermansen will be one of the players most ready for the Premier League with Leicester in 2024/25.

Abdul Fatawu

Set to join on a permanent deal from Sporting Lisbon this summer, following a brilliant loan spell, Fatawu could shine on the big stage in 2024/25.

His blistering pace on the right of the Foxes’ forward line will be a real asset for Steve Cooper, who likes his teams to break at speed.

Fatawu scored six goals and made an impressive 13 assists in the Championship last season.

Five of those assists came at the end of ball carries - one of the young Ghanaian’s key strengths.

Mesmeric with the ball at his feet, Fatawu can regularly beat a full-back on the inside or outside before creating opportunities for team-mates.

Fatawu's attacking threat compared 23/24

Premier League defenders will quickly learn that showing Fatawu inside, on to his outstanding left foot, is fraught with danger.

Given space to shoot with that foot, he is a major threat.

Inside the final third he is such a handful, and because the 20-year-old is still learning you would only expect his decision-making to improve at key junctures across the new season.

In the Championship, Fatawu averaged a goal-creating action 0.74 times per 90 minutes, which is a phenomenal return for a player who had never experienced English football before.

That output ranked him third behind team-mate Dewsbury-Hall (0.77) and Leeds United’s Georginio Rutter (0.75).

The lively right winger may not yet the finished article, but if Fatawu continues to develop at his current rate, he is a name sure to be on everybody’s lips in the future.

Also in this series