The future of one Leicester City player should now be clear after his underwhelming display at U21 level.
It was a positive weekend for Steve Cooper and Leicester City, who secured their second Premier League win of the season to move up to 14th in the table.
Gary Lineker compared Abdul Fatawu to Bukayo Saka after the winger came off the bench and played a key role in the Foxes coming from 2-0 down to beat Southampton 3-2.
Elsewhere, Troy Deeney named Facundo Buonanotte in his Team of the Week after the Argentine stood out in the victory over the Saints.
Leicester’s next Premier League fixture sees them face off with Nottingham Forest in an 8pm kick-off on Friday evening.
It is the first time Cooper will face off against his former club as Leicester manager and is no doubt looking forward to the clash.
The Englishman will be hoping his senior side fare a lot better than the Foxes’ U21s did on Monday evening, however.
Will Alves was poor for Leicester City U21s vs Nottingham Forest
Leicester City’s U21s faced off with Nottingham Forest in a Premier League Cup clash on October 21st.
Forest were the better side for much of the 90 minutes and eventually came away with a 2-1 win.
Cooper was in attendance and though the Foxes’ youngsters lost on the day, a couple of stars did impress.
Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans both earned 7/10 ratings from Leicestershire Live in their post-match ratings.
However, upon his return to action, Will Alves was given a joint-low rating of 5/10, with Leicestershire Live giving a rather damming assessment of his showing.
They wrote: “Not his night. Dropped deep to get on the ball as much as he could but he was then too far from goal to work his magic. He twisted and turned to try to create space for himself, but Forest stuck tightly to him. 5”
Steve Cooper transfer stance on Will Alves is now clear
Alves is a product of Leicester’s academy and has so far notched three appearances for their senior side, including one in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.
Last month, as per Leicester Live, Cooper hinted that they wanted to loan the 19-year-old but only if they could find the right club.
He said: “We have a strong programme for him. It might have included a loan for him, but if it did, it had to be right for him.
“I’d rather him stay with us than go on a loan that I didn’t think would be right for him. We’ll continue to work with him, and he can work himself into the right side of decisions. It’s the same for everybody.”
Cooper’s decision to keep Alves at the King Power Stadium in the first half of 2024/25 has proven to be the wrong one.
He has failed to break into the first-team and after his dismal showing at U21 level on Monday, the Leicester boss will now no doubt be eager to ensure the attacking midfielder is loaned out in the 2025 January transfer window.
It is obvious his development has halted this campaign and Cooper should now know that a move away from the Midlands is what’s best for Alves going forward.