Enzo Maresca has an abundance of attacking talent at his disposal and one of those players is winger Abdul Fatawu.
After dropping down from the Premier League as a high-profile club, Leicester were able to use their status to attract quality talent at Championship level.
The signing of Harry Winks from Tottenham Hotspur was the pick of the bunch while luring Stephy Mavididi from Ligue 1 side Montpellier showed their ambition to bounce straight back.
While Winks and Mavididi were relatively well-known quantities, not many knew who the incoming Abdul Fatawu was.
Abdul Fatawu’s season in numbers
Despite arriving as a relatively unknown player, unless you play Football Manager, Fatawu soon endeared himself to the Foxes faithful with his fine performances down the right flank.
The latest of those came in a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday last night as the 19-year-old scored his third goal of the campaign after assisting in the previous two encounters against Stoke City and Watford.
Since arriving from Sporting Lisbon, Fatawu has become well known for his high levels of creativity. Only six players in the second tier, including teammate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, can boast more assists than his total of nine.
The youngster has also bossed proceedings across other attacking metrics.
As highlighted by FBref, the King Power star averages 5.10 progressive carries per 90 and 2.88 successful take-ons in the Championship this season, placing him in the top 8% and top 11% of attackers in those areas.
Much like with any talented youngster, though, it’s natural that he has several areas he can improve and following their win over Wednesday, Maresca has earmarked one specific part of his game that he needs to work on.
Enzo Maresca says where Abdul Fatawu can improve
Despite showing his efficiency in attack, the Italian has pointed towards his decision-making as an area he can improve to reach the same levels as Dewsbury-Hall, whose quality in the final third is unmatched.
Speaking to the Athletic, Maresca said: “We are happy with Abdul, but he is still very young.
“He has many, many things to improve, even tonight. His goal was good and he had many good moments, but along with Ben Nelson, he is the youngest in the squad, so it is normal that there are areas to improve.
“Like Kiernan, at the start of the season he was shooting from everywhere. But these types of players, the most important thing is the quality in the last third. They need to be calm in those moments. Against Watford, he was inside the area and he could shoot, but he just passed it inside to Ricky (Pereira) and Ricky scored without the goalkeeper.”
For a 19-year-old who has earned his first taste of English football, the improvements required are minor for him to take his game to new heights, but it is progress that will come with time.
Fatawu’s permanent move to Leicester will be triggered before the end of the season and the youngster will be craving the chance to make an impact in the Premier League once promotion is eventually secured.