Rating every Leicester City summer signing - #1: Conor Coady
Like when Euro 2020 was actually played in 2021, the great Leicester City summer reset of 2022 is finally here… in the Championship… in 2023.
But it’s started promisingly with the signing of Conor Coady. So how many marks out of 10 would you award our capture of the Wolves and England man?
Becky Taylor: 8.5
Coady just seems like a good bloke to be honest, to me he's everything we needed to bring in - someone committed, with leadership qualities and hopefully fit for more than 5 games (unlike a certain Jonny Evans).
The reservations on him playing in a 4 at the back still don't worry me too much and I think it's great to have focussed on the spine of the team early. Give him the armband and get us aboard that HMS everyone is jumping on.
David Bevan: 9
I’m going all in on Coady. He ticks so many boxes: a leader, a Championship title-winner, a defender who isn’t made of papier mache, who I believe can be Enzo Maresca’s “coach on the pitch” in the same way Youri Tielemans was for Brendan Rodgers before things went sour.
I do share a few of the same concerns as others about his lack of pace and struggles against physical strikers but he still seems one of the best building blocks we could have put in place from day one and I hope he’s announced as captain soon.
Iain Wright: 7.5
I know there's a craving amongst a lot of the fanbase for 'young and hungry players', but the reality is that we can hardly go into a Championship season with Vardy and Albrighton babysitting a bunch of teenagers. It's a very tough league, so having some experienced, battle-hardened pros, with no shortage of quality, is not to be sniffed at.
Coady, first and foremost, brings leadership. It seems to be universally accepted that he will be captain next season and I hope that is the case. He looks like he's got enthusiasm in spades and considering he went to the World Cup just 8 months ago, it’s a bit of a coup for a Championship team.
Andrew Smith: 9
Coady seems to perfectly meet our requirements. A born leader and consummate professional as well as a highly-rated centre back is just what we need.
To worry whether we’ve overpaid, or whether he can play in a back four, would be nit-picking at this stage. Especially as his arrival would seem to remove the need to re-sign the perpetually crocked Jonny Evans.
Adam Hodges: 7.5
A solid defender who can play in the middle of a back three, a presence that has been needed since Big Wes retired. His captaincy at Wolves makes him a prime candidate to take the armband that was used as pass the parcel last year.
Everton didn't take Wolves up on the option to buy following Coady's season-long loan so there is a slight level of doubt but from his announcement interview he seems keen on playing for Leicester.
James Knight: 9.25
Like everyone else, I think this is pretty obviously a good signing. Although it is ironic that it’s the exact sort of signing we should have made last summer and which would have solved about 18 different problems that plagued us last term.
I do think this is interesting though in terms of what it means for how we’ll play. He’s been pigeon-holed as a three at the back man in the Premier League (and for England), and we’ve been hankering after Coventry defenders who play that system as well.
If that does prove to be the case then I reserve the right to revise this down to a 4. Kick the back three out of football. Nobody wants to watch defenders.
