Matchday Minus Two Talking Points: Fofana's Talent, City's European Fate & Assessing The Hammers

LCFC TV
03 Oct 2020
4 Minutes
Dan Bates and former Leicester City defender Gerry Taggart were joined by European football expert Chris Parrott for the latest episode of Matchday Minus Two on LCFC TV.

- Matchday Minus Two airs two days before each weekend Leicester City fixture
- The Foxes entertain West Ham United at King Power Stadium on Sunday (12pm BST kick-off)
- European football expert Chris Parrott joined Dan Bates and Gerry Taggart on this week's episode
- The trio responded to the Club's UEFA Europa League draw and Wesley Fofana's arrival in Leicester

Broadcast during the UEFA Europa League draw - which saw City paired with SC Braga, AEK Athens and FC Zorya Luhansk in Group G - the panel reacted live to events in Nyon, Switzerland.

As well as previewing Leicester's return to European competition, Taggart and Parrott also responded to news of Wesley Fofana's transfer to King Power Stadium and previewed Sunday's visit of West Ham United...

Fofana's talent

Fofana will wear the No.3 shirt at King Power Stadium this season.

Gerry Taggart said: “Brendan [Rodgers] wanted a centre-back and he’s gone and got his man. He’s someone that we’ve been keen to bring into the Club. It’s a major coup for Brendan and the Club. He’s a young lad, he’s not played a lot of games, but he’s obviously got a raw talent. If you look at Çağs (Çağlar Söyüncü) when he first game into the side, you could see that raw talent. He wasn’t the finished article, he wasn’t quite polished off, but in those 12 months, he’s improved immeasurably. You just want to see that steady improvement.” 

Wesley fits the bill

The former AS Saint-Étienne defender joins the Foxes with a big reputation in his homeland.

Chris Parrott said: "I’ve seen him quite a bit. He doesn’t turn 20 until December. He fits the Leicester City project in terms of age and potential to develop. Gerry’s right, you can look at how Söyüncü was 12 or 18 months ago and see a bit of Wesley Fofana in that. He has similar attributes. He’s aggressive in the challenge, he’s good on the ball, he likes to come away with it, he’s excellent in the air, but also he is only 19. Leicester have got a player they can develop. It’s a really good, exciting signing which strengthens the squad.”

A new frontier 

City return to the European stage in the UEFA Europa League group stage.

Gerry Taggart said: “Exciting times, isn’t it? It’s a new frontier for Leicester City. It’s exciting for the Club. Lots to look forward to. There’s some difficult ties and difficult logistics to sort out, but all in all, everyone should be looking forward to it. We’ll be one of the favourites to get out of that group, rightly so, and that’s how we should approach it. Yes, we’re going into the unknown, against some clubs we may not know too much about, but you’ve got to bring confidence and belief that you’re going into your group as one of the favourites.”

Assessing the group

AEK Athens qualified for the UEFA Europa League group stages with a late 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg.

Chris Parrott said: “Leicester will be big favourites to go through in one of the top two positions and make their way through to the last 32 of the competition. All of those teams finished third and were ‘the best of the rest’ in their leagues. If they’d finished in the top two in those leagues, they’d have had unbelievable seasons. Leicester could have had a much, much tougher draw, even if it’s a lot of travel, given they’re going to be going to Athens and the Ukraine.”

Keeping the run going

Leicester's No.10 scored an excellent effort in a 5-2 win over Manchester City last time out.

Gerry Taggart said: “West Ham had a good win last weekend against Wolves, who haven’t had a great start to the season, and it’ll be a difficult game. They’ll have their tails up, but without a shadow of a doubt, Brendan will be looking at this game looking for maximum points and to continue the great start they’ve had. The football they’ve been playing has been fantastic at times and he’ll be looking to keep that running into the game against West Ham.”

The Hammers' approach

David Moyes is less than 12 months into his second spell as West Ham manager.

Chris Parrott said: “They’re one of those teams which are likely to go 4-5-1 and maybe Antonio will be up front on his own, so Leicester will have a lot of the ball. There were times last season when clubs did that and Leicester had to find a way of breaking them down. It won’t be as free-flowing as the Man City game I don’t think, but if Leicester can make it 12 points from 12 ahead of the first international break of the season, they can go into that break with spirits incredibly high.”