adminGary Rowett will be wondering what to do with his Leicester City starting team after several first-team players played very poorly against Sheffield Wednesday.
Leicester were not good in front of goal at all. They had to settle for a 1-1 draw, which doesn’t really help their fight to stay up. What they really need now are wins.
The manager, who is worried about relegation, might decide to start Jordan Ayew again. The experienced striker scored an important equaliser with just eight minutes left to play.
Also, the former Oxford United boss will be hoping Jordan James returns soon after his injury on international duty. His replacement, Divine Mukasa, struggled in the number 10 role at Hillsborough, managing only one shot and two key passes, which wasn’t convincing at all.
He will also want to find a place for Jannik Vestergaard in his next lineups. The tall Danish defender brings the toughness the team will need as they head into some very difficult relegation battles.
The 33-year-old has been strong this season, winning an average of 5.9 duels per game. He won’t want Leicester to go down to League One. Instead, he will want to help lead the fight to keep them up, and he showed that fighting spirit late on in the 1-1 draw in South Yorkshire.
Even though he only played 21 minutes, Vestergaard made an impact. He won four aerial duels comfortably and also created one key pass, as Leicester tried hard to break down a solid Sheffield Wednesday defence.
However, Rowett may find it difficult to bring him straight back into defence. Both Jamaal Lascelles and Caleb Okoli have been performing well in recent tough matches. In fact, they won eight duels between them at Hillsborough before Lascelles was replaced by Okoli.
Because of this, Rowett might try something different. He could even use Vestergaard in a new position to make the most of his strengths, as the team may need to take risks to survive.
Although Jordan Ayew scored a brilliant equaliser that excited the travelling fans, he has not been a consistent goal scorer this season. The experienced Ghanaian has only scored six Championship goals so far. Patson Daka has also struggled in front of goal, so Rowett might be forced to try new ideas.
One bold option could be using Vestergaard as a striker. Rowett has even said he is “very technically good” when he gets chances in front of goal. At 6-foot-6, he could cause serious problems for defenders, especially late in matches.
Vestergaard has already scored three goals this season despite dealing with injuries. Using him up front could turn out to be a smart and unexpected move by Rowett in important moments.
If he cannot get back into the starting team as a centre-back, Vestergaard might accept this unusual role, as Leicester try everything possible to avoid relegation.
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Abdulhafiz Teslim