High-flying Leicester City loanee earns recognition after big impact at both ends
Leicester City loanee Brandon Cover is going from strength to strength on loan at high-flying Port Vale.
Cover netted his second goal of the season from wing-back on Saturday to open the scoring in Vale's 3-2 victory over Wimbledon. With a fifth-straight win, Darren Moore’s side are now four points clear at top of the League Two table.
Starting 10 of the 11 league matches since he joined from City on deadline day, Cover has established himself as Vale’s first-choice right-sided wing-back, and he’s making a big impression. He got off the mark with a delicate chip last month and showed off more of his qualities in scoring against Wimbledon.
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Intercepting on the halfway line, the 21-year-old drove into space and told striker Jayden Stockley, 10 years his senior, the run he needed to make. He then slipped a pass into the box to Stockley and then continued his run for the return ball, coolly sliding his shot into the bottom corner.
For the third Vale goal, it was Cover’s disguised through the lines and into the box that allowed Rico Richards to clip in a cross for Stockley to head home. Those goal contributions and his all-around performance earned Cover a place in the League Two team of the weekend.
But, as a wing-back, his priorities are not necessarily to get involved at the top end. However, he’s shown plenty of other qualities, and now leads the division for successive tackles per 90 minutes.
With City’s Under-21s, playing as a full-back or a defensive midfielder, one of the big strengths of Cover’s game was his combativeness and, even with the step up to senior level, it seems he has managed to retain that quality. Last month, manager Moore spoke of how Cover did not give his opposing winger “a moment’s peace”.