Before being sacked last summer, one of Nigel Pearson’s parting gifts to Leicester City was the signing of Christian Fuchs from Schalke on a free transfer. The Austrian international arrived at the King Power Stadium with a strong record of providing goals and assists down the left but had to bide his time under new Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri and failed to start any of the first seven league matches.
THE STATISTICS
A chastening 5-2 home loss to Arsenal saw Fuchs finally usurp Jeffrey Schlupp as Leicester’s first-choice left-back as Ranieri looked to tighten up defensively. This also saw Danny Simpson come in on the opposite side of the back-four as the Italian attempted to address a record of 14 goals against – and no clean sheets – in the first seven Gameweeks.
The Foxes claimed their first shut-out of the season against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 10, and kept a further two clean sheets in their next eight matches. Ranieri’s men them embarked on a remarkable run of 11 clean sheets in their next 15 matches, helping put them in pole position to claim the Premier League title.
Fuchs only missed one match from Gameweek 8 onwards, and chipped in with a credible four assists in addition to 15 clean sheets, helping put him among the top five highest scoring defenders in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) with 150 points. His original price tag stood at 5.0 in FPL, which fell to 4.7 by the time he was inserted into the starting XI in Gameweek 8. After the Leicester defence emerged as a true force during the second half of the season, Fuchs’ price reached a peak of 5.2.
What set Fuchs apart from the rest of the Leicester defence was his ability to rack up the bonus points. The Austrian’s tally of 25, which more than any other defender in FPL, matched the combined total of team-mates Robert Huth, Simpson (both ten) and Wes Morgan (five).
Huth and Morgan both offered far more of a threat than Fuchs due to their aerial threat from set-pieces, scoring three and two goals respectively this season. Both centre-backs did only cost 4.5 at the start of the season, but Fuchs ultimately proved worthy of the extra outlay, averaging 4.7 points per game (ppg), compared to 4.0 for Huth and Simpson and Morgan’s 3.7.
Fuchs also received plenty of individual accolades, including being named in the PFA Team of the Year, and received 13% of the vote to take the final defenders spot in our Team of the Season.
THE PROSPECTS
Although Fuchs firmly established himself as the first choice left-back under Ranieri, the addition of Champions League football next season may persuade the Italian to introduce a degree of rotation to his side next time around.
Certainly, Leicester’s lack of European fixtures, allied with a third round FA Cup exit to Spurs, ensured that the King Power side could concentrate fully on league matters on their way to the title. As a result, the Foxes’ team sheets rarely changed from one week to the next in 2015/16 but with more fixtures on their plate next term, Ranieri will be tempted to utilise the depth of his squad. Fuchs will surely remain the number one option on the left of the back-four, though, on occasion, the Foxes boss could turn to Schlupp or Ben Chilwell to cope with a congested spell of fixtures.
Fuchs started last season as Leicester’s most costly defender – at 5.0 – and, given his level of output, there’d be no surprise if he remained slightly more expensive again. A price rise to around 5.5 in FPL looks likely, and while that could boost the appeal of Huth, Morgan or Simpson for many, the Austrian could still be worth our attention. Aside from his bonus points potential, Fuchs’ delivery from the flank and share of dead-ball duties created 43 chances for his team-mates – second only to Alberto Moreno (56) among defenders.
In addition, Leicester’s tally of 15 clean sheets from the point of Fuchs’ installation was joint-top with Arsenal from Gameweek 8 onwards. This was in part down to the Austrian’s displays – he sits first for successful tackles (77) and second for interceptions (98) over that period, highlighting his importance to the champions’ backline.
With eight shut-outs in their final 11 home fixtures, Ranieri’s side will surely remain on our radars for the season ahead and providing his price isn’t too prohibitive, Fuchs may well have a major part to play in our seasons once again.
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