Harry Souttar moved from Stoke City to Leicester last season, but his time at the Foxes hasn’t gone as planned because a player has moved up ahead of him.
Harry Souttar’s career at Leicester hasn’t exactly gone as planned for him or the Foxes, and it seemed like an odd decision to turn down offers from other clubs during the January transfer window.
Souttar was initially tasked with maintaining Leicester in the Premier League after he joined the team in January of last year. However, Everton’s victory over Bournemouth on the final day of the season resulted in the Foxes’ relegation, which was one of the biggest shocks in terms of top tier drops since the Premier League’s inception.
Even yet, Souttar’s Stoke experiences demonstrated his superiority as a Championship player, and it was assumed that he would at the very least be a regular on a team that would always aspire to automatically return to the top.
However, he has only made two replacement appearances and one start in the second division, leaving him on the sidelines with his future uncertain.
The choice to start a young, promising player ahead of him also makes it even more perplexing that Souttar was not sold or sent out on loan.
Leicester City turned down Harry Souttar transfer approaches
Souttar was linked with a move away from the Foxes in January after his lack of playing time, with Sheffield United, Everton, Celtic and Rangers all interested in the Australia international over the past six months.
Souttar has little Premier League experience—he played in just 12 games for Leicester in the top flight last season—but with Sheffield United regularly conceding goals and Everton manager Sean Dyche known for favoring players with strong aerial ability in his squads, a return to the top division of English football appeared imminent.
In order to support their drive for promotion, Leicester decided to keep the 6′ 8″ center back at the club after rejecting offers for the outstanding Australian international.
It appeared to be a sign that Souttar would play more frequently in the second half of the season, but the fact that he played his final game before Christmas against Rotherham made Enzo Maresca’s choice all the more puzzling.
Ben Nelson’s Leicester emergence has shifted Souttar down the pecking order
Since then, young talent Ben Nelson has joined the team, and his display against Watford this past weekend demonstrated that he is capable of supporting the Foxes in their title pursuit.
Leicester City Championship Stats for Ben Nelson, 2023–2024
Looks
4
Minutes on Average for Each Game
31
Objectives
0
Helps
0
Touches Every Game
25.8
Each Game’s Tackles
1.0
Per-Game Interceptions
1.0
Won Aerial Duel Each Game
0.8
Clearances in Each Game
1.3
Precise Passes per Match
17.8
Statistics accurate as of February 14, 2024, according to Sofascore
In general, Souttar and Nelson are behind Jannik Vestergaard, Wout Faes, and Callum Doyle, who fills in as a third defender when Leicester is in possession. With Conor Coady remaining on the roster, the foursome is sufficient to carry promotion through on its own.
Nelson has already appeared in four Foxes games this season, surpassing Souttar in terms of engagement. He also played the entire game in the FA Cup victories over Millwall and Birmingham.
Prior to this past month, the 19-year-old’s only league experience consisted of two League Two loan stints from the previous season, the first of which he spent at Rochdale before moving on to Doncaster Rovers during the January transfer window of 2023. Nevertheless, Nelson has shown enough in training and for Leicester’s under-21 team to be considered for a chance by Maresca.
This makes the club’s hesitation to sell Souttar even more puzzling because it is never a good position for either the club or the player to have a £15 million asset sitting around with his worth declining.
Leicester’s title charge
Regardless of Souttar’s involvement, it appears like the King Power team will easily secure automatic promotion.
If Southampton wins their remaining match, they will still be 12 points ahead of Leeds in second place.
Leicester would only need to win ten of their remaining games to win the championship, as they would have a maximum of 42 points to acquire from that circumstance.
