Enzo Maresca has defended his decision to start Yunus Akgun on the wing in the 1-0 defeat to Millwall last night.
Having won back-to-back games against Norwich City and Birmingham City heading into this clash, many were expecting Leicester to brush aside a relegation-threatened Millwall side.
Though, that didn’t come to fruition as they struggled to create any meaningful chances and lacked a real threat going forward, particularly for the first 60 minutes.
Abdul Fatawu, an everpresent on the wing, was dropped to the bench in favour of Akgun.
Many were surprised by the decision, particularly when Fatawu came on and made a far greater impact than the 23-year-old Turkish playmaker.
Speaking post-match, Maresca explained why he opted to play Akgun out wide.
Enzo Maresca defends his decision to start Yunus Akgun on the wing
The City boss was asked why Akgun started as a winger last night, having featured as a midfielder for much of the campaign.
“Yunus is in a good moment. He is a winger. In the way we play, probably we use him more inside. But he is a winger,” he insisted.
“He can play there. Tonight he was playing good. We just changed him to try to refresh with Abdul. He was inside very good and he chipped the ball for Kele’s chance.”
Whilst he was neat in possession, the Galatasaray loanee failed to really carve out any chances and clearly didn’t back himself to take on his man.
He lacked that direct nature and that notion was only amplified when Fatawu joined the action, making more of an impact in less time on the pitch.
Yunus Akgun is better through the middle
Akgun was making only his eighth league start of the campaign last night having struggled to really make an impact since joining last summer.
He arrived in England as a winger but Maresca quickly decided to deploy him more as a right-sided midfielder, which seemed to suit him.
Such is why it was a surprise when he lined up on the flank against Millwall and perhaps in hindsight, he’ll see that he’s much more effective playing through the middle.
Plus, he seems to be more of an impact player for Leicester, anyhow, particularly when they need to hold on to a lead.
Akgun is always tidy in possession, so perhaps that’s how Maresca should utilise him in the remaining five games of the season.