Impossible to choose between four strikers, admits Maresca
FOUR strikers for one position gives Enzo Maresca an “impossible” task, the Leicester City manager has said.
For the first time this season, Maresca had all four of his strikers available and viable options to start against Middlesbrough on Saturday.
But the City boss has said he is only going to have three in his squad at any one time.
In the away game against Boro in November, Kelechi Iheanacho started, with all three of Jamie Vardy, Patson Daka and Tom Cannon on the bench.
However, at that point, Cannon had only just returned from a serious back injury and was yet to make his debut, and so was not under consideration for the starting line-up.
Now, with the quartet each
having had a chance during the season, all four could claim they deserve to start.
But Maresca will only pick one to do so, and then leave one out completely.
On Saturday, Daka got the nod and Iheanacho was omitted from the squad.
In the end, both Vardy and Cannon got off the bench and on the pitch, with Cannon playing the second half on the left wing. Being left out doesn’t bode well for Iheanacho, especially with his contract up in the summer.
The others taking their chance while he was with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations has put him on the back foot.
But it’s not definitive that he’s going to be the one to miss out every week.
Speaking after the game, Maresca, below, said on Iheanacho’s omission: “Kele just arrived from international duty.
“He worked with us for some days.
“While he was there, Tom did well, Jamie did well, Pat did well.
“Day by day, we’re going to take the right decision for the next game.”
In the first four months of the season, Maresca rotated between Vardy and Iheanacho, rarely starting the same player three games in a row and usually substituting one for the other each game.
But the manager is not going to spread the minutes out now. Asked if he would rotate between the four and share game time, Maresca said last week: “It’s impossible now there are just 14 games.
“It’s not like it was at the start of the season when you have 46 games and you can share. Now it’s just a matter of 14 games, so to share minutes will be very difficult.”