Six players City return To watch out for as to action this week

TWO months and a day after their last match, Leicester City will walk out at Burton Albion’s Pirelli Stadium next Saturday for their first test of the new season. It is more a test of fitness than of anything else right now, but that only slightly mitigates the excitement of seeing 11 players in blue out on the pitch together again.

While supporters who travel to Burton – 1,700 City fans could be present – will be cheering on the team as a whole, there will be individual players who they are more keen to see back in action again.

Here are our picks for the six City stars we’re particularly excited about seeing this pre-season.

1 PATSON DAKA

A big-money signing arriving to rave reviews and off the back of a campaign in which he scored an eyebrow-raising 34 times, it’s difficult not to be excited about a player like Daka.

That he is the first out-and-out striker

City have signed for four years adds to the anticipation, as do the clips of him stretching his legs and speeding past defenders.

City fans will hope to see pace and goals from Daka on Saturday, but there will also be an element of intrigue over how he fits into the team and works in partnership with Jamie Vardy or Kelechi Iheanacho as supporters search for clues on how Brendan Rodgers plans to set up his side this campaign.

BOUBAKARY SOUMARE

Like Daka, fellow new signing Boubakary Soumare arrives with the sort of pedigree to get fans licking their lips.

He’s a French league champion whose ability has had opposition fans again praising City’s transfer business.

While he’s not going to score or assist many, Soumare has a tendency to drive forward with the ball from the deeper positions in the centre of the park, something City have sorely lacked over recent years, with their midfielders typically either interceptors or passers.

HARVEY BARNES

From Christmas to his injury at the end of February, Harvey Barnes was in the form of his career.

Give him the ball and his first touch would put City on the attack, and with speed too, his directness and pace

often bamboozling defenders not quick enough to cope.

There was end product as well, the winger scoring at a rate of one in two.

With Kelechi Iheanacho stepping up in Barnes’ absence, it is difficult to say how great a miss the academy graduate was, but the thrill of him surging forward with the ball at his feet is one supporters are keen to experience again.

4 RICARDO PEREIRA

It wasn’t that long ago that City’s most creative player was their rightback.

In the days of Trent AlexanderArnold, that’s not too great a surprise, but while at Liverpool, the England full-back is the best of an influential bunch, there were games where City relied on Ricardo Pereira to produce a spot of magic.

Unfortunately, those brilliant Ricardo performances have not been seen for nearly 18 months now, following an ACL injury and then a return to action where he could not hit his former heights.

With an off-season and then a preseason in which to build his fitness, there is hope that peak Ricardo will be back, the one that can breeze past defenders, dribble in and out of tight spaces, combine well with teammates, put crosses on a plate for team-mates and even pop up with a goal.

5

If a 22-year-old central midfielder

KIERNAN DEWSBURY-HALL

enjoyed a season in the Championship where they ranked statistically as one of the best progressive passers and dribblers of the ball, and then won their club’s players’ player of the year award, you would suspect he would be the kind of star on City’s radar.

The thing is, this time, he’s already on City’s books.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall quickly established himself as a favourite at Luton, showing maturity and confidence in what was his first full season as a senior player as the Kenilworth Road outfit enjoyed a solid campaign.

Supporters will be keen to see how much progress he has made over the past 12 months, and if he can step up to the Premier League.

KAMAL SOWAH

Part of the excitement over Kamal Sowah stems from the unknown.

Playing in Belgium but not in any European competition, it is difficult to get a hold of highlights of the young Ghanaian, while it’s not even that clear what his best position is, given he played on both flanks, behind the striker, as the striker and even in defensive midfield during his spell on loan at Leuven.

But there is certainly something there to get excited about. Of all the players to get at least five goals and five assists in the Belgian top flight last season, Sowah was the youngest at 21.

It will be interesting to see where Rodgers slots him in, and what he can produce from that role.