‘Little’ Leicester’s success is not normal, says Ranieri
>> LONDON: The success “little” Leicester City have achieved this season is not normal, manager Claudio Ranieri said on Thursday as his side sit second in the Premier League after 21 games, behind leaders Arsenal only on goal difference.
Unlikely title challengers Leicester were rock bottom for most of last season but pulled off a great escape to stay up after winning seven of their last nine matches and finish 14th.
Ranieri, who took over from Nigel Pearson at Leicester during the close season, has urged the club’s supporters to continue to dream.
“If the ‘little’ Leicester is looked down, it’s normal. It’s not normal what Leicester are doing. It’s unbelievable. It’s fantastic and our fans are dreaming,” Ranieri told reporters on Thursday.
“The fans must continue to dream, we must continue to work hard. We are so fast. Sometimes it’s difficult to stop us.”
After Wednesday’s impressive 1-0 league victory at Tottenham Hotspur, Ranieri called on his team not to lose focus when they travel to take on bottom side Aston Villa today.
“I believe only in the next match. I know the next match may be tougher than Tottenham. Aston Villa are a good team. They won their last match so now I want to see our mentality,” the 64-year-old Italian said.
Meanwhile, Leicester City are in negotiations to sign Daniel Amartey from FC Copenhagen after making a bid for the Ghana international, the Danish club said on Thursday.
Local media reported that Leicester had offered around US$8.73 million for the 21-year-old midfielder.
Born i n Ghana, Amartey was scouted by current Estonia coach Magnus Pehrsson, who signed him for Swedish club Djurgarden in 2013, where he was managing at the time.
After a successful spell with Djurgarden, Amartey joined FC Copenhagen in July 2014.
He was also part of the Ghana squad that came second at the 2015 African Nations Cup, losing the final to Ivory Coast after a thrilling penalty shoot-out.