In a city of innovation and a country considered the Silicon Valley of Europe, it was James Maddison who electrified Leicester City’s path to a first European semi-final, his equaliser sparking a comeback victory on a memorable night in Eindhoven, but he was not the only one to impress.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the homegrown midfielder who spent last season on loan at Luton, was name-checked by the PSV manager, Roger Schmidt, as Leicester’s outstanding talent and the full-back Ricardo Pereira slotted in the winning goal two minutes from time to tee up a Europa Conference League tie against Roma. Then there was Wesley Fofana, whose performance was so typically peerless, quietly hoovering up in defence and pouring cold water on PSV attacks, it has become the norm.
But it would be wrong to gloss over Fofana’s abundant class. The defender, who turned 21 at the end of last year, returned to first-team action only last month in the previous round, scoring at Rennes after seven months of rehabilitation from a broken leg and damaged ankle ligaments, some of which he spent building strength in the sandpit at Leicester’s sprawling 185-acre Seagrave training base.
Fofana used his pace to get teammates out of trouble and plays with a maturity that belies his years. After Philipp Max got in down the left flank, Fofana rushed in to extinguish the danger before dragging his teammates up the pitch, and seconds before Maddison equalised he curtailed a PSV attack. On the hour, he cleanly raked the ball clear of Cody Gakpo and earlier ate up ground to block Eran Zahavi’s route to goal.
The good news for Leicester is that Fofana, who harbours ambitions to play for France, recently signed a new five-year contract. “His anticipation as a defender is top – he just has an in-built brain for the game, his reading of the game is great,” said Brendan Rodgers. “With all due respect, he has no respect in terms of [when he is] on the field. He defends forward, he is aggressive and in my experience working with world-class players, they have got great human qualities outside of the field but when they’re on there, they’re super-aggressive and that’s exactly what he is.”
After the game, the Leicester chairman, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who took in the game alongside his brother and vice-chairman, Apichet, and the director of football, Jon Rudkin, made his way to the dressing room to congratulate the players. Maddison reserved special praise for Fofana, who is fasting as he observes Ramadan. “I said to him at the end: ‘It takes a big heart to do that, that lung-busting run back on the counterattack, to put in the challenge, win the foul, all while he’s fasting; he deserves credit for that,” Maddison said. “He hasn’t eaten or drank all day, played a full 90 minutes … he was letting us attack, shutting down counterattacks.”
Rodgers praised his players for not resorting to “playing frightened football” when they trailed and no one embodied that better than Fofana, who exhibited composure in a frenetic game alongside his sidekick Jonny Evans, another player welcomed back from injury. Maddison put in the kind of performance that will surely edge him closer to an England recall and his 14th goal of the season means Harry Kane and Tammy Abraham are the only Englishmen to have outscored him this campaign.
“The unfortunate thing for him is there are so many talented players in the positions he plays,” Rodgers said. “He can do no more. What I love is he has the personality, ability and belief at this level that he can play in the biggest games and contribute in the biggest games. I think he has been consistent for a long period.”
At a time when the former key Leicester pillar Harry Maguire is enduring a rough ride at Manchester United, Fofana continues to exude calm. His performances for Saint-Étienne against Neymar and Kylian Mbappé in the French Cup convinced Leicester to make their move and the £30m they paid 18 months ago, which Rodgers predicted would prove a bargain, is beginning to look a real snip.
“He is unbelievable,” the Leicester manager said. “He is a very, very talented young player. You think again, he hasn’t eaten all day … it was only midway through the game that he started to get some food on. He is a phenomenal talent and one that will go right to the very top of the game.”
