Leicester Fan View: Foxes should extend Aleksandar Dragovic's stay

When Claude Puel took charge of Leicester City, a few areas needed improvement. Not least our defensive play. A clean sheet wasn’t a regular occurrence and our defending from set pieces near laughable. Puel’s been very honest in his assessment that it needs work. He’s clearly been doing plenty of this with the team, too. For what could be labelled a makeshift back four, the Foxes picked up a third consecutive clean sheet in the Premier League when beating Watford 2-0 on Saturday. The most convincing performances came from the two centre-backs, the ever impressive Harry Maguire and on-loan Aleksandar Dragovic.

Aleksandar Dragovic, quietly but confidently earning his way to a first team place

If reports are correct, the Foxes have first option to buy Aleksandar Dragovic at the end of the season. Bayern Leverkusen value the centre-back at around £16 million. It’s more than a fair price in the current market. The 26-year-old has had to bide his time at Leicester. His starts in 2017 were primarily during the cup. Calm on the ball and competent in the air, though not the tallest, he looked promising but the glimpses were fleeting.

AS IT HAPPENED: Leicester v Watford

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Dragovic is a player who has taken advantage of our current defensive issues. With Wes Morgan and Robert Huth out injured, we’ve relied upon him to partner Harry Maguire. The Austrian has quietly but confidently gone about it, too. While not necessarily catching the eye against Chelsea, Fleetwood in midweek or against Watford, he’s put in three very solid performances. He’s not going to surge forward and is more the type to stay back and man the area so his contributions can slip under the radar. He can play the ball, but isn’t against hoofing it away when needed to. If you’ve been missing Wes Morgan’s full body blocks too, Dragovic has shown us a couple in the last few games.

His partnership with Maguire has produced a good understanding and the two were on hand to assist Kasper Schmeichel against Watford. His height is a little misleading, but his aerial reach is more than good enough. Against a fairly tall, physical Watford side, he won most of his aerial duels. Claude Puel will already have ideas about long term replacements for our ageing defenders. Hopefully Dragovic has shown enough to prove that he’s worth a purchase.

In Harry Maguire, the Foxes have one of the best English centre-backs out there

While the clean sheet and win were a great team effort, Harry Maguire was a deserving recipient for Man of the Match. Alongside Dragovic, the two looked unlikely to concede. Every time there was danger, Maguire seemed to be there to resolve it. Even in what should have been a one-on-one with Schmeichel, the centre-back appeared to clear it and force it for a corner. Our goalkeeper likely had it covered, but it’s that sort of dedication that makes him such a fan favourite.

He may not look like a footballer, but the more we see of Maguire, the better he continues to look. Already a shoe-in for a World Cup spot, it’s something for Foxes fans to look forward. This latest display is yet another performance that will catch the eye of big teams and increase his price tag. How we signed him for just £18 million is a mystery and looks more like theft with every game. He’s easily one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League and in the top two for English ones. If Leicester can keep him in the summer, it will be a big result.

Can, or should, the likes of Wes Morgan and Danny Simpson get straight back in?

This current back-line is makeshift compared to what we’re used to. With the exception of Schmeichel, the Watford match marked one of the first times we’ve played in the league without a single one of our back four that won the title. On current form, with no goals conceded in 450 minutes of football, it will be hard for any of them to walk straight back into the side, too.

Ben Chilwell is the long-term replacement for Christian Fuchs and has started to look more and more convincing at left-back. He coolly dealt with several tricky moments yesterday, his pace and turn able to help him. Wes Morgan may be the Captain, but with how Dragovic and Morgan are playing, he’ll face a fight to win back his place. Robert Huth probably has an even harder road ahead having not yet played this season or for Puel. His comeback to full fitness is already complete, but it’s likely he’ll just be making the bench, pushing Yohan Benalouane further down the pecking order.

Danny Simpson is the only one you feel could regain his place immediately. Daniel Amartey has been his replacement of late, but isn’t a natural right-back. His display against Watford was his most accomplished in the position so far and he’s certainly tried to fill in for Simpson, but it’s not been consistent enough. Amartey has youth on his side though, still in his early twenties. If right-back is to be his permanent future, he’s still got time to learn and adapt.

Seventh and climbing for Puel’s Foxes

The 2-0 win against Watford lifts Leicester into seventh. Having chased down Burnley for the last month, we’re now setting our sights on Arsenal. It’s still too early to be considering Europe but Puel’s workaround at the club continues. He’s got the team, and our stars, on top form again. Picking up three points again is even more pleasing when Watford’s game plan was to frustrate and work their way into it. You have to feel it’s the type of game we would have blown, or lost, earlier in the season. Under Puel it was patient, but we got the job done.