One more change to the Leicester City line-up that defeated Bournemouth and Steve Cooper may have an 11 that feels distinctly his.
With Harry Winks making way for the 1-0 win over the Cherries, just six of the regular City starting line-up from the Championship triumph remained. One more and the majority of last year’s team will have been changed.
Cooper did not have the chance to select Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the midfielder sold to Chelsea before pre-season training had even begun, but it has been the manager’s decision to leave out Ricardo Pereira, Jannik Vestergaard, Abdul Fatawu, and now Winks.
Fatawu is a unique case. He did start the first three Premier League matches before being dropped for Stephy Mavididi, another regular from last season. In Cooper’s system, for now, it seems like there’s only space for one of the two.
Both are seen as out-and-out wingers, who thrive in one-on-ones when staring down their full-backs near the touchline. But in Cooper’s set-up, one of the wingers needs to be adept at drifting inside and playing as an attacking midfielder. The likes of Facundo Buonanotte, Jordan Ayew, and Bobby De Cordova-Reid are more suited to such a role.
But for Ricardo, Vestergaard, and now Winks, there’s a theme. Each have been replaced in the line-up by a player who may not be technically as good, but is physically stronger.