Leicester have endured a sticky run of form in the Championship after being held to a score draw by Hull City on the weekend.
The Foxes have won one of their last five games, which has seen their lead at the top cut to three points by second-placed Leeds United.
Ipswich Town reside in third and just four points adrift of Enzo Maresca‘s side, so what looked like a comfortable return back to the Premier League is now in jeopardy.
One positive of late is the form of Jamie Vardy. The veteran centre-forward netted twice on Saturday and scored the winner at Sunderland.
Interestingly, the 37-year-old has now started back-to-back games for the first time since the 3rd of November, evincing his growing importance.
Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho have not ‘stepped up’
Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho have come in for some criticism on talkSPORT’s EFL All Access podcast.
Former Arsenal forward Adrian Clarke claimed that neither of the aforementioned pair have ‘stepped up’ in recent weeks and it’s costing them ground in the promotion race.
“Daka and Iheanacho would walk into most teams in the league but they haven’t stepped up have they? Not consistently enough,” Clarke said.
“It’s still Jamie Vardy. How long have we been talking about Jamie Vardy being the main man for Leicester City?
“I think Maresca this season would’ve expected more from the other two, especially in a side that creates as many chances as The Foxes do.
“Vardy is still the best. He’s the one that you can trust more than the others.
“And really that is the reason why Leeds and Ipswich are so close to them. Because if Daka and Iheanacho had delivered as much as they promised to, they’d be away and in the distance.”
Leicester City can’t be over-reliant on Jamie Vardy
It’s become clear that Vardy is still the best striker at the football club. His goal record this season is phenomenal. No player in the Championship has a better goal-per-90 ratio than Vardy’s 0.95, as per Fotmob.
But they can’t become over-reliant on the 37-year-old, who needs to be managed carefully given his age.
With that said, when Vardy can’t play from the off, City need one of Iheanacho, Daka or Tom Cannon to step up in his place.
City have an embarrassment of riches in the forward line and there’s no reason why the aforementioned trio can’t go on a goalscoring run of their own.