5 Leicester Youngsters Who Have Impressed During Foxes Pre-Season Friendlies

Leicester City's pre-season campaign has been somewhat overshadowed by the constant rumours that Harry Maguire is set to depart the King Power Stadium, in favour of a move to Manchester United.

However, while this endless transfer saga rolls on, the Foxes have been quietly putting together a string of very encouraging results.

Brendan Rodger's side have yet to taste defeat and if they can avoid losing against Atalanta on Friday evening, they will have gone the entirety of pre-season unbeaten.

Youri secures the W
— Leicester City (@LCFC) July 27, 2019

Even more encouraging than the results though, has been the performances of some of the Foxes' younger players over the past month.

Following the breakthroughs of academy graduates: Liam Moore, Jeffrey Schlupp and Ben Chilwell to the first team in recent years, Leicester will be hoping that the youngsters who have been impressing recently can continue their development into this season.

So without further ado, here they are: 90min details five youngsters who have impressed during pre-season for the Foxes.

Çağlar Söyüncü

Despite being brought in for almost £20m from SC Freiburg 12 months ago, Çağlar Söyüncü experienced an underwhelming start to life in the east Midlands last season.

Registering only six Premier League appearances amid concerns over his ability to overcome the language barrier with his teammates, this season the 23-year-old must come of age if he is to have a future in England.

Luckily for Brendan Rodgers, the Turkish international has put in a number of impressive performances in pre-season, producing faultless displays in games against Scunthorpe and Rotherham.

With Wes Morgan not getting any younger, and Harry Maguire's future still uncertain, Söyüncü will be eyeing up the potentially vacant centre-back spot alongside Jonny Evans for the upcoming campaign.

James Justin

James Justin: bargain of the summer. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Whether you agree with this bold statement or not, there can be no denying that Justin in an extremely exciting prospect.

Blessed with a fabulous technique and able to play in either full-back role, Brendan Rodgers wasted no time in bringing in Luton's standout player during their run to the League One title last season.

The Foxes manager will have been very encouraged by what Justin has displayed so far in pre-season. The England Under-19 international has demonstrated his attacking desire in games against Cheltenham, Scunthorpe and Rotherham, earning the plaudits of Rodgers in the process.

The Northern Irishman told the Leicester City website that: "I thought James Justin showed some promising signs over on the far side where he was linking up with his team-mates."

Ricardo Pereira and Ben Chilwell will both be looking over their shoulders this season, as Justin offers a genuine threat to both of their first-team places.

Harvey Barnes

If Harvey Barnes could finish he would be starting for England. Simple as that.

Blessed with frightening pace and Zidane-esque close control, the England Under-21 international tasted a significant amount of first team action at the King Power Stadium in the second half of the season, but only managed to score on one occasion.

Unfortunately it appears that Barnes' nerves in front of goal have continued into pre-season, but Brendan Rodgers will take solace in the fact that the 21-year-old has continued to tear apart opposition defences for fun.

Against Cambridge in particular, Barnes fashioned a litany of chances for himself and others and these performances leave him with a good chance of nailing down a spot in the Rodger's starting XI.

Admiral Muskwe

20-year-old striker Admiral Muskwe has been at the King Power Stadium since he was just nine.

SEASON AWARDS: The #lcfc Academy Player of the Season is Admiral Muskwe. #havingaparty pic.twitter.com/UfvyQu1MXk
— Leicester City (@LCFC) May 10, 2016

Winning the club's Academy Player of the Year in 2016, as well as picking up international caps for England Under-17s, before choosing to represent Zimbabwe, the place of his parents' birth, Muskwe is finally beginning to make his mark on the Foxes first team.

Starting up front against Cheltenham, alongside Kelechi Iheanacho, the Leicester-born youngster pressed well and participated in some encouraging link-up play with his teammates.

Further first-team action came against Rotherham, where he replaced Harvey Barnes. Brendan Rodgers will be hoping that he can kick on this season and be included in more first-team squads.

Khanya Leshabela

South African forward Khanya Leshabela has been in the Foxes youth system since 2013, and is another young prospect who has caught the eye during pre-season.

The 19-year-old has principally been deployed out wide in recent games, though he has previously shown his ability to also operate as a second striker.

Leshabela was fortunate enough to start against Scunthorpe, where he linked up impressively with full-back Christian Fuchs throughout the first half.

This performance was rewarded with more minutes during a subsequent game against Stoke City and with the South African signing a three-and-a-half year deal as recently as January, expect to see a lot of the youngster over the next few seasons.

Source : 90min