Leicester City told when they should look to upgrade Hamza Choudhury | OneFootball

The Foxes offloaded a player to Sheffield United in January who could yet have a big impact at the King Power Stadium this term

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Hamza Choudhury was a bit-part player in Leicester City’s difficult Premier League campaign last term, but the early signs suggest he could take on a much greater role in the second tier.

Choudhury has been with the Foxes since the age of seven and has risen through the ranks to make over 130 appearances for the senior side, but has struggled somewhat for minutes in recent years, provoking loan spells with Watford and, most recently, Sheffield United.

With Leicester back in the Championship, however, the Bangladesh international looks to have a greater route to minutes with his boyhood club, and having played key roles in pre-season against Fiorentina and Deportivo, captaining the side for the latter, the signs look promising.

We asked our Leicester fan pundit, Louchlainn Martin, whether he’d be happy for the 27-year-old to stick around the squad.

Choudhury can play a key role for Leicester in the Championship

Speaking to Football League World, Louchlainn said: “Yeah, so Hamza Choudhury is an interesting one.

“Obviously, when we were in the Premier League. Finishing fifth in the league and fighting for Champions League and playing in the Europa League, he wasn't up to scratch. He wasn't up to scratch.

“He was finding himself on the bench a lot or not even on the bench, in the reserves, then went out on loan a couple of times. He went to Watford; he was at Sheffield United last season as well.

“But this season, I have full expectation that he does stick around, and I'm actually quite happy about that. He is one of the leaders in the squad. Of course, he is. He's been at the club since he was about 12 years old or something.

“So far, we've seen him in the Marti Cifuentes system a little bit, and he actually suits it really well.

“Now, the problem with our squad at right-back is that our main two right-backs, Ricardo Pereira and James Justin, both just pick up way too many injuries.

“So, unless we were to ultimately improve on Hamza, I'm looking forward to keeping him around, and I don't think we could improve on Hamza with the money that we will have available in our transfer kitty this summer.

“So, absolutely, keep Hamza Choudhury around. He fits the system, high energy, lots of legs on him, can move about the pitch really well.

“He did well at right-back for Sheffield United last season, was very good for Leicester against Fiorentina in the last pre-season friendly.

“Keep Hamza, and if we return to the Premier League, look to upgrade on him then.”

Choudhury’s adaptability will be key for his minutes

Although Choudhury was restricted to the bench in Leicester’s 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday, his route to first-team minutes will be enhanced by his ability to play both in midfield and at right-back.

As Louchlainn points out, with James Justin and Ricardo Pereira at right-back, it’s not hard to imagine injuries opening up opportunities for Choudhury.

Plus, his experience playing more defensive roles in midfield will help under new boss Marti Cifuentes, who deploys two deep defensive midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 setup, creating more vacancies that Choudhury’s skillset can fill.

Having only signed for the Blades on loan in January, he made 16 Championship appearances for the side, 13 from the start, before playing every minute of their play-off campaign.

It shows that Choudhury has plenty to offer a top-end Championship side, so while that’s where Leicester find themselves, it would seem unwise to offload him now.