Leicester City's "brilliant" Abdul Fatawu tipped for Championship prize - on one condition | OneFootball

Leicester City forward Abdul Fatawu has made a great start to the season.

Leicester City have enjoyed a promising start to the 2025/26 campaign, and young winger Abdul Fatawu has been one of the brightest sparks so far.

The Foxes arrived back in the Championship bruised after a miserable season in the top-flight, becoming the first Premier League team to lose eight top-flight games in a row without scoring a single goal.

They haven’t let last year’s woes slow them down during the opening stages of this term, with Marti Cifuentes and Co. winning three of their opening five Championship matches.

A defeat against Preston North End has been the only low point so far, allowing Leicester to keep pace with league leaders Middlesbrough thus far.

Multiple players have impressed for the Foxes during their opening encounters, such as Jeremy Monga, who became the Championship’s youngest ever goalscorer when he netted against PNE earlier this season.

Abdul Fatawu has arguably been Leicester’s standout star, with Player of the Match displays vs Oxford United and Birmingham City.

The 21-year-old proved himself to be a capable second-tier operator during the 2023/24 campaign, when he scored seven goals and provided 13 assists for the Foxes en route to the title.

There were rumours surrounding his future in the summer window, but Fatawu ultimately remained at the King Power Stadium. After his brilliant start to the term, the winger has recently been handed an overwhelming amount of praise.

Bold Abdul Fatawu, Leicester City claim made

Fatawu’s performances haven’t gone unnoticed, with fans and pundits alike taken aback by his talismanic role in Leicester City’s team this season.

Speaking on the recent edition of The Essential EFL podcast, Simeon Gholam and former Football League midfielder David Prutton discussed the 21-year-old, before making a strong prediction about what this term may have in store for him.

Commenting on Leicester City’s derby clash against Coventry City, Gholam stated: “A 90 minutes where you get to watch Abdul Fatawu play is always worth spending.”

“Brilliant,” replied Prutton. “One of the best (players) right now in the Championship.”

“If he stays fit all season,” began Gholam. “He will be Player of the Season.”

Fatawu wasn’t nominated for the prize during the 2023/24 campaign, despite recording 20 goal contributions in the league, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Crysencio Summerville and Sammie Szmodics given the nod instead.

Abdul Fatawu could face Josh Sargent threat in Player of the Year race

Fatawu has been one of, if not the Championship’s standout player during the opening stages of this season, with his flair and natural ability evident throughout every match he has competed in thus far.

However, he could face competition in the Player of the Year race from another forward who has started the campaign in flying form.

Josh Sargent has scored five times in his opening five matches for Norwich City this term, topping the division’s scoring charts alongside Haji Wright at this moment in time.

More impressively, the striker has netted 71 per cent of the Canaries' goals thus far, highlighting just how well he is performing in comparison to his teammates.

Fatawu is still a great bet to take home the Player of the Year prize, but the Foxes star certainly isn’t without competition from some of the Championship’s finest players.