From ‘utterly abysmal’ to ‘supernatural’: every Leicester City player’s 2021-22 rated
Welcome to The Fosse Way’s 2021/22 player ratings.
To start, a little bit about how we arrived here. Each player’s performance was graded out of 10 every time they featured for 20+ minutes last season. This was then divided by the amount of appearances they made, giving us an average rating, rounded to one decimal place.
The qualification bar was set at five senior appearances in all competitions, meaning anyone below that threshold hasn’t been rated (apologies in advance to Kasey McAteer, Lewis Brunt, Will Alves, Wanya Marçal-Madivadua, and Vontae Daley-Campbell).
Another disclaimer: these ratings are subjective. They’re simply the opinion of one fan, based on every match over the course of a 57-game campaign.
We haven’t scrutinised xG to the nth degree, nor have we published a 10,000-word analysis of James Maddison’s standing foot at every corner he’s taken.
Nope, this is a straight-up, old-school eye test.
Anyway, enough of the T&Cs. Let’s dive in.
26: Ryan Bertrand - 4.5
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. Where to start. Just four Premier League appearances pretty much tells the story here. Injuries haven’t helped, and we’re pretty sure a nasty bout of COVID set him well back, but his displays last season were utterly abysmal, to say the least.
There’s not a great deal more to say here. Fingers crossed we can all rid our minds of last season’s showings and move on.
25: Jannik Vestergaard - 4.8
The Great Dane Disappointment. Everything about Vestergaard’s arrival at the club last August reeked of panic buy. To put it politely, the 6ft 6 centre back, who somehow becomes 5ft 6 when jumping, had a shocker. He was signed for his impressive distribution — an ability to slice through pressing lines in the build-up phase — but, as it turns out, that’s of little-to-no use when you can’t actually defend.
The media has already indicated Leicester are willing to let him go after just one season at the club, but finding a potential buyer could well be a thankless task. At this stage, recouping even 20 percent of the report £18M spent on him would signal decent business. Sorry, Jannik, we’re sure you’re a lovely bloke.
=23: Boubakary Soumaré - 5.7
A player who had Leicester fans and football hipsters alike waxing lyrical before a ball was kicked. On paper, this looked great: a silky-smooth midfield maestro with the ability to get physical when necessary and dominate games. Alas, much like City’s feeble attempts to defend set pieces, Bouba’s fledgling Foxes career never really got off the ground.
Playing more like a deer in headlights than a press-resistant machine, Soumaré seriously struggled to adapt to the English game, and left Rodgers bemoaning a lack of midfield running. Soumaré’s qualities are still evident, but it looks increasingly likely it’ll be another club that has the good fortune of bringing them to the fore.
=23: Çağlar Söyüncü - 5.7
Ah, Çağs. A tough season for you, our friend. The Turkish wall was already beginning to crack last summer, when his nation crashed out of the Euros as more lame ducks than dark horses. Fast-forward 12 months and those three error-prone international fixtures pretty much sum up his entire campaign.
Once a model of composure and bravery at the back, Söyüncü lurched from one mistake to the next, failing to click with his most common partner, Daniel Amartey, and largely looked every bit the shaky, inexperienced defender he was when he first signed for the club in 2018. Here’s hoping for a strong comeback next season.
22: Wilfred Ndidi - 5.9
For the duration of Brendan Rodgers’ tenure, Ndidi has been the bedrock upon which Leicester City’s midfield has been built. One glance at his ‘tackles won’ stats tell you you’re looking at one of the Premier League’s best midfield destroyers, but similar to Söyüncü, last season Wilf fell short of the mark.
A cruel knee injury prematurely ended his campaign in March, but in truth, Ndidi was struggling for form well before then. He still got in amongst it, trying to knock oncoming opponents off the ball and break up play, but his game in possession took a sharp decline, and he soon became more liability than liberator to his teammates.
=18: Marc Albrighton - 6
Leicester’s steady eddie. One of the last remaining relics from 2016. It’s been another standard year for Albrighton. Age may be catching up with him slightly but you can still rely on him to put in a shift when needed.
There was some displeasure voiced online in regards to his displays last season, and while he’s by no means a world-beater, we definitely feel he deserves more respect. You wouldn’t have a problem if your daughter brought Marc home, and we certainly don’t have a problem with him grafting his way through an increasingly-rare appearance or two.
=18: Hamza Choudhury - 6
From homegrown benchwarmer to Leicester’s very own Javier Mascherano and back again. It was quite the rollercoaster season for Hamza. Chucked into the unfamiliar position of centre back, Choudhury undeniably did an excellent job. There were fears his lack of discipline and inability to read the game would lead to disaster, but Choudhury quickly proved doubters wrong.
Unfortunately, whenever he was asked to play his accustomed midfield position, it was more of what we’ve come to expect: a handful of enthusiastic but ill-disciplined appearances. No-one can question Choudhury’s tenacity, but a loan or permanent move away from the club is becoming ever more probable.
=18: James Justin - 6
‘Not another injury’, we hear you cry. Yep, Justin was the latest victim of a brutal ACL setback which kept him out for the first half of last season. What’s even more disappointing is just how brilliant he’d been up until that point. Improving every game while playing across several positions, it looked as though City had a future club great on their hands.
His comeback was less spectacular than Fofana’s, but it’s clear to see Justin is still building his fitness and confidence. A recent debut cap for England should do the latter the world of good. For now, we’re hoping a summer of rest and a full pre-season helps get JJ back to his very best.
=18: Ayoze Pérez - 6
Pérez has been sneered at by supporters for much of his time at the club. Burdened by the weight of a £30M price tag and often shoehorned into an unnatural right wing role, he’s struggled from the get-go.
Matters were not helped by his dismissal just 40 minutes into the second game of the season vs. West Ham. It took him until the quarter-final second leg against PSV to redeem himself, coming off the bench to set up Maddison and spark an inspired comeback. A few decent performances followed, but nothing to get overly excited about.
=16: Patson Daka - 6.1
‘A goal-to-minute ratio that rivals Erling Haaland’, they cried. ‘The second coming of Jamie Vardy’. Well, not quite.
Daka has all the attributes to become a brilliant Premier League striker. He’s quick, he’s a good finisher, and he appears to have a first-class attitude. But it hasn’t really clicked for him this year. He also looks more comfortable in a front two, and was visibly low on confidence towards the end of the campaign.
There’s belief among both fans and coaches that Daka will come good. We’ve seen enough to know he’s an exciting talent — not least from when he hit four in 34 minutes past a helpless Spartak Moscow.
=16: Ricardo Pereira - 6.1
It wasn’t so long ago that you would hear some Leicester fans genuinely hailing Ricardo as the league’s best right back (yes, even above Trent). But those days now seem like a lifetime ago. Another devastating ACL injury has turned this once majestic, marauding full back into another does-a-job defender.
Hope remains that Ricky P can recapture his once-stellar form, but the longer his injury niggles and lack of fitness go on, the more that feels like wishful thinking.
His start to the season was very promising, with Ricardo demonstrating a potent creativity when afforded licence to roam, but yet more setbacks further down the road turned the campaign into another almost season for the Portuguese star.
=11: Daniel Amartey - 6.2
Leicester’s surprise package of the season. Amartey has always been billed as something of a utility player by the club: a centre-cum-right-back who occasionally dips his toe into defensive midfield. Last season, though — through a plethora of injuries and underwhelming signings — Danny found home at the heart of our defence.
He wasn’t unbelievable. No-one ever expected him to be. But Amartey did a solid job when called upon, even doing enough to earn himself a Pitbull-themed chant. You may not be the second coming of Paolo Maldini, but you’ll forever be our Ghanaian prince, Danny.
=11: Kelechi Iheanacho - 6.2
Senior Man. You’d be forgiven for thinking Leicester had signed Lionel Messi on an emergency loan back in January 2021, such was the impact Iheanacho had when finally given a run of games. Partnering Jamie Vardy up top, Kelechi was sensational, scoring goals for fun and showing off a first touch that would leave even Riyad Mahrez purring.
Unfortunately, normality resumed last season, and Iheanacho reverted back to the talented if inconsistent reserve striker we’ve known him to be. It’s clear that he thrives in a front two, but with that very much being Rodgers’ backup plan, Iheanacho remains underutilised and continues to excite and disappoint from the bench in equal measure.
=11: Ademola Lookman - 6.2
As is the case with many tricky wingers, Lookman is a mercurial talent. One day he can light up a game. The next his touch is heavy and he looks void of confidence. There’s a very good player in there — scouts at Everton, Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester can’t all be wrong — but, similar to Barnes, he needs to find consistency to take his game to the next level.
It remains to be seen whether Leicester pull the trigger on his permanent signature. There are other priorities in the squad, and you sense Lookman isn’t seen as the solution to City’s long-held right wing problem. Still, an exciting player on his day who generated more praise than scorn from fans.
=11: Luke Thomas - 6.2
One of our own. Luke’s enjoyed a steep learning curve. It feels like he’s been thrust into the first team set up ahead of time, like an adolescent after a growth spurt who’s still not fully in control of their own limbs. Once again, this has been born out of necessity, on account of the relentless injuries Leicester have endured in recent years.
Still, Thomas has stepped up and done a solid job when called upon. He’s clearly still developing, but this season he showed a grit to his game that had perhaps been lacking before. There’s still plenty to work on, but now standing as an England U21 international and fully fledged member of Leicester’s squad, Thomas is beginning to earn his stripes.
=11: Danny Ward - 6.2
Ward sneaks his way into the list with dead on five appearances — four of which came in domestic cups. Given the luxury of being judged on far fewer minutes in comparison to his shot-stopping teammate, it’s fair to conclude Ward’s rating may well have been lower had his and Schmeichel’s appearance numbers been reversed.
A very commendable solo league appearance against Watford marked his season highlight. And he was boosted further by his now-regular penalty shoot-out heroics against Brighton. However, it’s hard to look past the misery of our cup exit to Forest, which was undoubtedly the lowest point of the season.
=9: Timothy Castagne - 6.3
Following a few interviews over the course of the season — where he regularly lambasted Leicester’s poor form and called on himself and his colleagues to do more — some fans are suggesting Castagne should be next in line for the captain’s armband.
His mentality off the pitch cannot be questioned. And on it he performed pretty well, too. There was the odd defensive mistake, lapse in concentration, and an occasional over/underhit cross, but by and large it’s fair to award Castagne the title of Leicester’s best full back last season.
=9: Kasper Schmeichel - 6.3
Leicester’s leader of men. Few, if any, can doubt Schmeichel’s passion. Those vintage, ‘how’s he pulled that one off’ saves were still present every other game, but last season felt like it exposed some flaws in the captain’s game that have always been there.
Short-range distribution remains something of an issue for Kasper, as does his ability to command the six-yard box from set pieces. Neither were helped by a defence that changed more regularly in look and shape than a Milan catwalk, but nonetheless it was a tough season for the Dane. Average, if not spectacular.
=5: Harvey Barnes - 6.4
It took him some time to get going — presumably due to the knee injury he sustained towards the end of the season before — but once up and running, Barnes gave a decent account of himself.
On the odd occasion we saw him in full flight, he looked to be a full back’s worst nightmare (just ask Vladimír Coufal about his trip to the King Power). But moments like that were few and far between, and indecisiveness coupled with poor finishing let him down on more than one occasion.
He’s a raw talent with bags of potential. However, now 24, he needs to start showing that these glimpses of elite performance are more than just purple patches of form.
=5: Jonny Evans - 6.4
Evans has been our stalwart at the back for four years now, but last season was by far his toughest to date. The injuries that have ravaged the squad also took their toll on the Northern Irishman, who managed to feature in less than half of Leicester’s Premier League games.
Still, doing his best Ledley King impression, Evans rose to the test, putting in a string of assured but not sensational defensive displays. He could do little to stop the rot at the back — and he may not quite be the defender he once was — but good ol’ Jonny still warrants his place in City’s strongest starting XI, and will likely play an important role next season, too.
=5: Nampalys Mendy - 6.4
Leicester’s forgotten man. Mendy’s transformation from ‘wait, he’s still at the club?’ to ‘how is this guy not registered to play in Europe?’ was quite remarkable. Arriving back at the club in February as a continental champion, Mendy swiftly established his Africa Cup of Nations form at the heart of City’s midfield.
A number of strong showings allowed Rodgers to shift to a 4-3-3 formation, with Mendy providing support for Youri Tielemans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in Ndidi’s absence, while also helping to breath new life into James Maddison, as he took to his inverted right wing role like a duck to water.
At the time of writing, we don’t know what the future holds for Papy, but good God, he’s earned the respect of every Leicester fan.
=5: Youri Tielemans - 6.4
Given the obscenely high bar Youri has set himself since arriving in the East Midlands, it’s hard not to feel a bit underwhelmed by his 2021/22 performances. It was still a decent season for the Belgian — unlike the dark corners of LCFC Twitter would have you believe — but far from a vintage one.
He has, on occasion, dictated the tempo of games with his exceptional control and passing, but it’s been a far too regular occurrence watching him run back towards his own goal — seemingly in slow motion — as opposition midfielders race past him on the counter attack.
At the time of writing, Youri seems destined for the exit door. Average season or not, he’ll always be our Starman and FA Cup extraordinaire.
4: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 6.9
Breakout star of the season? By just about every metric, it seems impossible to disagree. Leicester fans were quietly optimistic following rave reviews from his loan spell at Luton — where he won the club’s POTS award — and once he broke into our first team, he certainly didn’t disappoint.
Playing more like KDB than KDH at times, Dewsbury-Hall offered a level of energy, quality, and commitment that the side was otherwise sorely lacking. It’s hard to accurately gauge whether he was genuinely outstanding or just made to look better due to the dross around him, so we’ll settle in the middle and say it was a very good debut season for the Shepshed lad.
3: Jamie Vardy - 7.1
You really do run out of things to say about this guy. Goal machine, sure. Club legend, of course. Chief rustler, absolutely. Vardy continues to defy the laws of age, and while his body is finally starting to creak, when fully fit he’s still proving near impossible to stop.
Playing the final four games of the season as if each were hosted at The Hawthorns, Vardy smashed in five goals to finish the season as the club’s Premier League top scorer, with 15 to his name despite only starting 20 times.
At 35 years old, Vardy is still playing like a man possessed, hellbent on obliterating every over-30 record in his path. And as long as opposition fans keep chanting about his wife, we can’t see him slowing down anytime soon.
2: Wesley Fofana - 7.2
Now here’s a player. As little Wes lay in a crumpled heap, following the most horrific pre-season challenge seen since Yohan Benalouane tried to end the career of Burton Albion’s Stephen Warnock, many feared Fofana’s season was over before it had even begun. But thinking that would mean thinking Fofana is mortal. This kid’s supernatural.
At just 21 years of age, he’s already one of the best centre backs in the country, let alone at the club. His recovery was miraculous, putting in one outstanding performance after the next. There were a couple of blips, but you sense next season could well be his Virgil van Dijk 2017/18 year, where everyone sits up and starts to realise this guy might just be a future Bernabéu Galáctico.
1: James Maddison - 7.4
A season of two halves definitely applies here. Maddison won Leicester’s POTS while failing to register a single goal or assist until late October. That should give you an indication of just how special his 2022 was.
While Maddison’s early-season form saw haters smashing up their Cernucci necklaces, the site had probably crashed by mid-March on account of a traffic spike from ‘JM10’ codes being used at checkout. Maddison transitioned from his customary attacking midfield position to become a lethal threat cutting in from the right, racking up goals contributions at will.
The talent that once saw him spoken about in the same bracket as Jack Grealish, Mason Mount and Phil Foden is once again on display. Something that’s abundantly clear to everyone not named Gareth Southgate.