DEFIANT PUEL IS NURTURING YOUTH TO REPLACE FOXES OLD GUARD

CLAUDE PUEL is out on his own at Leicester City – and it should be enough to silence the whispering campaign against him until the end of the season.

The Frenchman has been the subject of intense scrutiny at the King Power Stadium after gradually squeezing out the old guard from the title-winning side of three years ago. But, while there has been talk of regimented training sessions and uninspiring tactics, there will be few complaints in other areas at the east Midlands club.

Before last Wednesday night’s fixture at Anfield, Puel (right) had given 8,373 playing minutes to eight players aged 22 or under. That figure is streets ahead of the next club, Arsenal – more than double, in fact. And it was added to again on Merseyside. It may not be surprising that £24million capture James Maddison has featured extensively, as has former England Under-21 Demarai Gray. But Puel has also promoted Ben Chilwell, Hamza Choudhury, Onyinye Ndidi, Harvey Barnes and Caglar Soyuncu, all of whom are 22 or

under. And, although the likes of Jamie Vardy and Wes Morgan may disagree, the fact is that Puel is overseeing a fundamental shift in policy towards young players.

That has drawn suggestions of conflict within the camp.

But time waits for no man in football.

And former Foxes skipper Matt Elliott says he can see the logic behind the choices being made by the ex-monaco boss. Elliott said: “Leicester has one of the best academies in the country. Look at the players coming through.

“That’s testament to the hard work, money and effort which has gone into it. It’s also testament to the manager.

“He’s taken his fair share of criticism, but he sticks to his principles.

“He has said from the start – and it’s not really the way of the modern manager because time is of the essence – that he sees it as a project. He likes developing young players and he’s put his faith in them.

“As a consequence of that, you are not going to get consistency all the time. For anyone who has criticised him, he can put that statistic in front of them and say, ‘Look at what I’m trying to do.’ And it’s a very strong case – if that’s the one he wants to put forward.”

Puel defended himself before making changes ahead of the FA Cup tie at Newport County last month – one that the Foxes subsequently lost against the Exiles.

But he remains unapologetic in his stance – and is determined to do what is right for the long-term.