It was all thanks to Boubakary Soumare that Leicester City got a late equaliser against Ipswich Town last weekend. Following a Foxes corner, Ipswich counterattacked with most of Leicester’s men forward. Soumare tracked back to tackle Sam Morsy before carrying the ball forward with strength and pace. The Frenchman then passed to Jordan Ayew, who slotted in the equaliser following an exquisite one-two with Jamie Vardy.
Since signing for Leicester in 2021 for a reported fee of £21 million, Soumare has failed to nail down a starting spot for himself. The midfielder has been plagued with inconsistency, which has led to him starting just 32 league games in the three-and-a-half-years he has been at the club (He spent last season on loan at Sevilla).
However, Soumare has looked good in Leicester’s last two matches. He started against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup and impressed despite the heavy loss. While he didn’t retain his starting spot a few days later against Ipswich, Soumare came off the bench and made a huge impact.
There are a few voices suggesting that Soumare should start against United this weekend. Although the last two games have been good, Leicester fans are all too familiar with the 25-year-old showing flashes of brilliance but struggling with consistency.
Steve Cooper has plenty of midfield options to choose from
Tactically, having Soumare partner Harry Winks could work. The Frenchman is well-rounded and has the physicality to take control of the midfield. However, the two midfield pivots are arguably the most contested spots in the team currently. Steve Cooper has four quality options in Winks, Wilfred Ndidi, Oliver Skipp, and Soumare.
Winks and Ndidi are Cooper’s first choice pairing currently, with Skipp and Soumare providing tough competition for those spots. While Soumare has looked good recently, the Frenchman must still prove worthy of starting. Ndidi has been Leicester’s best midfielder this season and doesn’t deserve to be dropped. Cooper can continue giving Soumare 30-25 minutes off the bench every game, and should the midfielder show consistency, he could force himself into the Foxes starting 11.
