Leicester City have surprise star that only Wrexham's Josh Windass is beating in key area | OneFootball

Leicester City full-back Ricardo Pereira could be an unexpected secret weapon for Marti Cifuentes based on this evidence

Wrexham striker Josh Windass currently leads the Championship in terms of goals per game, with an average of 1.53 per 90.

That is relatively unsurprising, given the former Sheffield Wednesday man has been one of the division’s most notable forwards for a number of years and has joined a number of Championship-quality players in signing for the Red Dragons.

What is perhaps more surprising is the man hot on his heels in that particular metric: not a fellow no.9 or a tricky winger, but experienced Leicester City full-back Ricardo Pereira.

It’s an impressive early-season record for the Portuguese defender, considering he has not been showered in opportunities by manager Marti Cifuentes.

Ricardo Pereira’s impressive scoring stats

The right-back has only played 139 minutes of the new season for Cifuentes, comprising of just one start and three appearances off the bench, but he has already managed to notch two goals.

His first was the second in the Foxes’ 2-0 win over Birmingham City, the full-back latching on to the end of youngster Jeremy Monga’s cross.

He followed that up in the next game against Oxford United with another striker, having replaced Stephy Mavididi at the break, notching the all-important second-half equaliser after his side had gone 2-1 down in the first half.

Remarkably, not only does it put Pereira close to Windass in terms of goals per 90, it also makes the 31-year-old Leicester’s joint top scorer so far, tied with Abdul Fatawu.

Marti Cifuentes may struggle to ignore Ricardo Pereira’s influence

The Spanish coach has so far preferred Hamza Choudhury in Pereira’s natural right-back berth, no doubt an important player himself as he has taken the armband when his Portuguese counterpart has not been on the pitch.

But with Pereira having been able to make so much from the little game time he’s been given, Cifuentes may soon need to work out a way to get both figures in his side.

The Foxes have scored eight goals so far, certainly not the worst return, but it is the second-lowest haul in the top six currently.

They will need to up their goal threat if they’re to sustain or improve on their current fourth-place spot, and with Pereira looking as incisive as he does currently, it will start to become difficult to leave him on the bench.

The Leicester City boss has tactical shifts available to him

Thanks to the adaptability of Choudhury, there are simple tweaks Cifuentes can make to fit both him and Pereira in the side.

His 4-2-3-1 leaves open two spaces for a deeper midfielder, which is on paper the Bangladesh international’s primary position.

That may mean dropping Boubakary Soumare or last season’s headline signing Oliver Skipp to the bench, which would be a situation in itself for Cifuentes to manage, but the form of Pereira could make that his best option to sustain the side’s positive start.