Drinkers in The Globe, Leicester’s oldest pub, will have noticed the tall man with distinctive curly hair walking past on transfer deadline night — how could they not? But they would be forgiven for not realising he was Leicester City’s new, and only, signing of the summer.
Wout Faes had just completed his £15million ($17m) move from Reims in France and rather than sit in his hotel room, the Belgium international decided to take a stroll. He may not enjoy such anonymity now because already, just four games into his Leicester career, the 24-year-old is displaying the potential for cult-hero status.
Advertisement
It has been a tough start. Due to a delay in his international clearance, he watched from the bench at Brighton as his new team-mates conceded five. He then made his debut nearly two weeks later as they conceded six at Tottenham Hotspur. He also made a mistake to allow Dominic Solanke to break past him in the move that led to Philip Billing’s equaliser in the 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth.
However, he has also featured at the heart of a Leicester defence that has recorded back-to-back clean sheets at King Power Stadium for the first time since December, with a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest followed by Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace.
There weren’t too many positives from the goalless stalemate against Palace, as Brendan Rodgers’ men failed to claim a victory that would have temporarily lifted them out of the bottom three amid their worst start to a season since 1983, but Faes’ performance was a straw to clutch.
It was particularly important given the absence of captain Jonny Evans with a calf strain and the struggles of his replacement Daniel Amartey and the depleted confidence of full-back James Justin.
Faes is showing leadership qualities that will be just as important on Thursday, when Leeds United visit King Power Stadium for a game Leicester simply have to win with the pressure mounting on Rodgers from a section of the crowd.
Palace were only able to muster one shot on target and while Patrick Vieira’s side are also struggling, Faes produced an impressive display to minimise their threat and he could be seen organising those around him. “He has leadership qualities and it is one of the reasons we wanted to bring him in,” Rodgers said. “He knows football. His idea of the game is really good and he has a good football brain.
“That combination of him and Jonny can be a really solid one for us. But he has to take even more leadership with Daniel alongside him. He defends very well and is very brave. He wins a lot of first headers and is a fantastic passer of the ball.”
Advertisement
In both facets of the game — with and without the ball — Faes was a commanding figure against Palace, topping many of the stats. He was top for tackles and interceptions, with six, and demonstrated his ability to read the game and cover early on, especially when Amartey’s clumsy pass released Odsonne Edouard.
Faes was the only Leicester defender who could stop the Palace break, and he didn’t panic. He held his position to stop the early inside pass as Edouard progressed and then timed his tackle perfectly just outside the Leicester box — to the relief of Amartey (below).
Rodgers loves defenders who are aggressive and can press into midfield when required. Faes showed his ability to see danger on several occasions, most notably twice in the first half when he spotted the forward runs of former Leicester title-winner Jeff Schlupp and made up the ground to intercept Joel Ward’s pass.
He also made an interception on Schlupp followed by a thumping challenge on the touchline (below).
Faes won three of his four aerial duels in the game and his presence seems to have helped Leicester’s problems at set pieces, both defensively and in the opposition’s box, where he was a focal point of James Maddison’s delivery.
He also impressed in possession. Cool and calm on the ball, Faes seems comfortable under pressure.
Leicester fans grow frustrated when their side pass tentatively across the back line. With such a possession-based approach, the two central defenders feature high on the touch stats. Faes touched the ball 96 times and made more passes than any other player (84 attempts and 77 successful).
But he also progressed the ball forward the second-highest distance at 448 yards (Amartey was the highest at 460 yards) and his long-range passing and ability to switch the play were notable. He completed 11 passes over 30 yards from 14 attempts. One of the unsuccessful attempts almost played in Maddison, who had made a darting run from midfield, but keeper Vicente Guaita was able to intercept.
Faes was also regularly looking for winger Harvey Barnes and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall down the left.
Faes has only been at the club for less than two months, but is already making his presence felt and showing maturity beyond his age.
He recently revealed he rejected a move to Chelsea when he was 16 because he valued the education he was getting at Anderlecht on their Purple Talent Programme, where he attended Sint-Niklaasinstituut boarding school with Leicester team-mate and close friend Youri Tielemans. Dennis Praet also went to the school.
Advertisement
Eight years later, Faes has fulfilled his dream of playing in the Premier League because, ironically, Chelsea signed Wesley Fofana from Leicester.
He is clearly a rounded character. He revealed he is fascinated with finances and is reading a book on investment by Warren Buffett, the business magnate. He has read the Harry Potter series twice, loves fishing for pike in Belgium with his uncle and sang Take Me Home, Country Roads as his Leicester initiation.
His personality might be just what Leicester need right now. He is said to be extremely positive around the training ground, smiling despite the team’s struggles, and happy to do community events to meet Leicester fans.
At a time when Leicester are very much in need of leadership, Faes is showing that the summer’s transfer window might not have been the disaster it seemed, and those drinkers in The Globe who follow Leicester may have a new cult hero to toast.
(Top photo: James Williamson/AMA/Getty Images)
