Leicester City winger Abdul Fatawu is now the best U22 player in Europe for one statistic this season.
Enzo Maresca has had varying degrees of success in the loan market at Leicester City.
Callum Doyle, who arrived from Manchester City in the summer, was promising for his first nine Championship appearances before a knee injury curtailed his season.
Yunus Akgun has struggled to break into Maresca’s plans as either a central attacking midfielder or winger and can therefore go down as a failure.
Cesare Casadei joined on loan from Chelsea and found it difficult to break up the Italian’s indispensable midfield trio, but once he did – playing ninety minutes in consecutive games – Mauricio Pochettino decided to recall him from his loan spell early.
The only real success story from those who arrived on loan is winger Abdul Fatawu.
Although the Ghanian is currently serving a suspension, he’s been far and away Leicester’s best loan acquisition with two goals and seven assists in 23 Championship appearances.
He’s been terrorising defences all season long and as a result, he’s now first among players under the age of 22 for one remarkable statistic.
What remarkable statistic is Abdul Fatawu first for?
Fatawu has recorded the highest xG-assisted from open play per 90 (0.36) among U22 players in Europe this season, as per StatsBomb.
Through his precise dribbling and searing pace, the 19-year-old has proven he’s a king at creating opportunities for his teammates.
His ability as an assist machine has now been recognised across Europe and while some may say the Championship is a league with lesser quality, he’s still producing consistently.
For someone of his age, that is an impressive trait to have. Most teenagers will only show glimpses of their talent and will find to find that level of consistency.
Fatawu is relentless with this output and he is one of the reasons why Leicester have found so much joy in wide areas.
Can Abdul Fatawu step up to the Premier League?
If Leicester do win promotion to the top flight, the Ghanaian’s loan from Sporting Lisbon will become permanent for a reported £14.6 million.
At his age and current level of talent, that could prove to be a steal.
That is, however, as long as he can make the step up to the Premier League.
In the Championship, Leicester dominate possession and matches, which means Fatawu gets many chances to utilise his attacking talent.
Maresca only needs to look at Burnley to realise that stepping up to the top flight will mean tweaking his tactics.
The Clarets stormed to the second-tier title last term but have since struggled on their Premier League return.
Leicester will be keen to prevent that from happening – if they get promoted – and Fatawu will want to showcase his talent on a much bigger stage.