£17m star has become one of Leicester City’s most important players, he was badly missed against Newcastle

Add as preferred source on Google

Leicester City suffered their first defeat under Ruud van Nistelrooy as the Foxes were beaten 4-0 by Newcastle United.

The hosts were dominant from start to finish as Leicester barely laid a finger on the Magpies and are now only two points clear of the bottom three.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
11	NewcastleNewcastle	16	6	5	5	23	21	2	23
12	TottenhamTottenham	15	6	2	7	31	19	12	20
13	Man UtdManchester United	15	5	4	6	19	18	1	19
14	West HamWest Ham	15	5	3	7	20	28	-8	18
15	EvertonEverton	15	3	6	6	14	21	-7	15
16	LeicesterLeicester	16	3	5	8	21	34	-13	14
17	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	15	2	7	6	14	20	-6	13
18	IpswichIpswich	16	2	6	8	16	28	-12	12
19	WolvesWolves	16	2	3	11	24	40	-16	9
20	SouthamptonSouthampton	15	1	2	12	11	31	-20	5

There were plenty of disappointing performances from a number of Leicester players and what was most evident was that the Foxes are missing one of their key stars.

• READ MORE: What Alan Shearer did to Gary Lineker during Leicester City’s defeat away to Newcastle

Boubakary Soumare was a huge miss for Leicester City

It’s almost inconceivable to think that Boubakary Soumare would be missed when not playing, but given his turnaround in form, his absence was obvious to see.

Missing through suspension, Oliver Skipp and Hamza Choudhury started in the midfield as Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks were also unavailable.

His replacements didn’t set the world alight though as Skipp and Choudhury failed to make a tackle until the 60th minute and couldn’t get near their opposition counterparts.

Since Soumare was reintroduced to the side the midfield has looked far more balanced and composed.

His physical presence and calming presence on the ball is a far cry from what was witness at St James’ Park, with Skipp and Choudhury both giving the ball away numerous times, as well as looking a yard off the pace.

Had the Frenchman been available. then maybe the result would’ve been different.

• READ MORE: Steve Cooper actually deserves plaudits for changing the fortunes of £17m Leicester City star

When will Boubakary Soumare return for Leicester City?

Thanfkully for Van Nistelrooy and Leicester fans, Soumare won’t be out for much longer and will be back in contention for next week’s home game against Wolves.

Due to picking up a fifth yellow card of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion, the £17m star was forced to miss Saturday’s defeat as per Premier League rules.

Van Nistelrooy will almost certainly restore him to the starting XI and he will be a welcome return for the Foxes and one that nobody could’ve foreseen coming/