Two at a time, baby: Preston North End 1 Leicester City 2 (23 July 2022)
Two friendlies on the same day, Jeremy? Two? That’s insane!
With Leicester proudly abstaining from the transfer market, we're in a unique position among Premier League clubs where we have to get excited about football.
While the elite cram their customers into stadiums in Minnesota, Perth, and Seoul, and beam in live footage of Fabrizio Romano’s Twitter feed, our brave boys hit the mean streets of Derby and Preston to teach them a footballing lesson.
As four consecutive hours of pre-season football goes, it was quite good. We might even have learned some things.
Soumare to the moon?
Brendan Rodgers split his forces in two for Saturday’s double-header. The sides were, more or less, the A team and the B team that any of us would pick if we were in charge. The only really intriguing team selection was that Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi played with the Bs in Derby, while Bouba Soumare played for the As at Preston.
Reading too much into pre-season team selections is one of the most pointless endeavours a football fan can indulge in. Ndidi has been injured and is a bit behind, so his absence from the first team makes sense. But, with that said, his nominal backup - Papy Mendy - was on the bench for the Bs, while Soumare played the first-choice midfield role alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and James Maddison at Deepdale.
Over the last couple of weeks, it’s seemed inevitable that Soumare was going back to France this summer. But his stock has been rising over the past couple of games; he did well against Hull in midweek and put in another decent display here. He did much more defensive work than we’re used to, often filling in at the back as Wesley Fofana or James Justin disappeared over the horizon to join in with the attack.
This might all be noise and an attempt to showcase him to potential suitors. But it’s clear there aren’t going to be any midfield additions before Brentford in a fortnight. The lack of transfer activity has given Soumare - and Dennis Praet - a slither of a chance to force their way back into the big time.
To the left, to the left
Before Justin tore his knee to pieces 18 months ago, he was a right-back. At some point during his recovery, he became a left-back. It’s not entirely clear how this change happened. Perhaps at a certain point, treating injuries becomes like Mario Kart – if you’re bad enough at it, the game starts giving you madly overpowered bonuses to try to help you compete. Except instead of Bullet Bill, it’s the ability for someone to play on the opposite side of a back four.
Whatever the reasons for it, JJ the LB is going to be incredibly fun to watch. Rarely do you have a full-back who is a legitimate goal threat from open play. We saw glimpses of this when he played at wing-back before his injury, and if Preston is anything to go by he’s going to take up some equally provocative positions even from a deeper starting spot.
More than once Justin could be found attacking the six-yard box like a young Alan Shearer, to try to get on the end of crosses. When Leicester win the ball back, he’s taking off on the outside like an Olympic sprinter. He’s racing past Harvey Barnes on the underlap. This is not fantasy advice, but he is going to score some goals this season.
The return of the entertainers
Leicester have scored 12 goals in four games over the last week. All three strikers have been scoring; so have Barnes and James Maddison. Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka have five between them and could have easily had the same again on Saturday alone.
It was a similar story before Christmas last season. Afterwards, it felt like Maddison was carrying the team on his own for long stretches. The signs this pre-season give us hope that the entertainers might be back. Leicester are creating chances again.
At one stage against Derby, Luke Thomas missed an open goal from two yards out. Obviously, in an ideal world he would have scored from two yards out, but still. Luke Thomas! Open goals! It might be exciting!
The week ahead
The traditional season curtain-raiser takes place at the King Power next weekend, when our brave boys take on Sevilla in the final friendly of the summer.
And the Community Shield is taking place too, etc.
If you weren’t already aware, with Wembley otherwise engaged, the FA have decided to turn the Community Shield into a kind of footballing Red Wedding where the current champs have to host the people who are going to nick it away from them. We will be boycotting the event in protest.