Enzo Maresca claims that midfielder Dennis Praet keeps getting better every time he pulls on the shirt for Leicester City.
Dennis Praet was sidelined with an injury for the first few months of the campaign, only making five Championship appearances for the club from August to December.
Praet struggled to get a look in as Enzo Maresca preferred to use a midfield trio of Harry Winks, Wilfred Ndidi and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall while Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei was the player who appeared from the bench.
Now that Casadei has been surprisingly recalled by Chelsea and Ndidi has been sidelined since the end of December, Praet has taken his chance at a crucial point of his Foxes career.
The 29-year-old, who arrived from Sampdoria for £18 million in 2019, has played in each of Leicester’s last five league fixtures but does see his contract at the King Power expire in the summer.
He’s one of eight who could depart the club this year, including Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ndidi and Jannik Vestergaard.
The only player Leicester have reportedly opened talks with so far is Vestergaard while the rest are in the dark over their futures.
Recent comments made by Maresca, though, suggest that Praet could be one of the players who remains at the club.
Enzo Maresca claims that Dennis Praet keeps ‘getting better’
In January, Praet would have been resigned to leaving Leicester, especially after Serie A side Torino showed an interest in the midfielder.
Fast forward a month and he’s now a firm part of Maresca’s plans with the Italian praising him for his positive performance against Middlesbrough, despite the 2-1 defeat.
“For me, Dennis is getting better game after game,” Maresca said. “He arrived there many times and crossed the ball. Sometimes we were there and sometimes not. I think overall Dennis did a very good game.”
Praet can continue making a statement
Praet was one of the better performers in the defeat to Boro, offering himself in attacking areas and making the most touches of any Leicester player inside the opposition box.
And while Ndidi has posted better attacking metrics than the Belgian, he has proven that he still has a lot to offer Maresca between now and the end of the season.
Following that defeat, the Foxes are nine points ahead of Leeds United, who they play in a crucial Championship clash on Friday.
Praet will want to continue making an upward trajectory in his manager’s estimations by putting in a top performance against the Whites.
Not only would it give Leicester an even bigger lead at the top, but it would give him every chance of sealing an improved deal at the club when it didn’t look at all likely in January.