Steve Cooper is still searching for his first Premier League win since taking over as Leicester City manager in the summer.
Leicester City kicked off their Premier League return with a rather fortunate 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur having survived constant pressure before Jamie Vardy scored against the run of play in the second-half.
That point has been followed by two consecutive 2-1 defeats to Fulham and then Aston Villa, with a 4-0 Carabao Cup win over League Two Tranmere Roves sandwiched in between.
Steve Cooper would have been under no illusions as to how difficult this season will be when he took over from Enzo Maresca in June, especially once Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was sold days after his arrival.
However, nine players have been brought in this summer to help Cooper keep the Foxes in the Premier League and he now knows that one of these could be the solution to one of the factors behind Leicester’s poor start.
Steve Cooper Leicester City midfield too defensive in Aston Villa defeat
Going into the season, one of the positions Leicester looked strongest was defensive midfield thanks to the fact Harry Winks and Wilfred Ndidi were both at the club.
It was a surprise, then, to see Cooper sanction a deal for Tottenham’s Oliver Skipp for a fee that could rise as high as £25 million who plays in the same position as the aforementioned duo.
Whilst depth is clearly needed in the Premier League, many felt such a fee could be better spent in an area where Leicester were light on options.
However, Skipp was signed and Cooper handed the 23-year-old his first league start in the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa at the weekend.
This move saw Ndidi pushed further forward to operate ahead of the base of Winks and Skipp.
This did not work, though, as Ndidi had a really poor game and the midfield lacked any creativity with three defensive players in the middle of the park.
Ndidi did operate in a more advanced role under Maresca in the Championship last season but this was in a very different set-up to what Cooper has opted for.
Bilal El Khannous the obvious solution to Leicester City midfield
The good news for Cooper is that he has a very talented and very obvious solution.
Leicester spent £21 million to sign Moroccan attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannous from Genk last week and he was handed his debut off the bench against Villa, replacing Skipp in the 68th-minute.
Whilst it is perhaps understandable that Cooper wanted to start with a defensively solid midfield trio against Champions League Villa, he must now trust that two of his three defensive midfielders are capable of protecting the back four.
This means that one of Skipp, Ndidi or Winks will have to come out of the side, with El Khannouss then deployed ahead of the chosen two to provide a spark and give Vardy something to feed off up front.
With the midfield chosen against Villa Leicester simply had too many players trying to do the same thing which came at the detriment of the side.
The Foxes immediately looked brighter once El Khannouss replaced Skipp and got their goal shortly after through a Facundo Buonannotte strike in the 73rd-minute.