Since taking over the managerial charges at the King Power Stadium, Craig Shakespeare has made his first signing by acquiring the services of Sam Hughes from Chester. Leicester City were timorous for the major part of the last campaign under the tutelage of Claudio Ranieri but the ship was eventually stabilised by Shakespeare who not only ensured a strong finish to the Premier League for the Foxes but also guided them to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Shakespeare had a galvanising impact last season and the three-year deal fetched to him to be the manager of the former English champions was the reward which he thoroughly deserved for the acceptable outputs he successfully manoeuvred. Despite not having managed before, the 53-year-old displayed intense grit, excellent leadership and injected motivation into the squad, took the club away from the relegation zone and made them finish as high as 12th on the league chart.
Strengthening his arsenal over the course of the summer transfer window was always going to be the key and the Englishman is all set to do the same. His acquisition, Hughes, has proved to be a defender of fine calibre in the National League as he has significantly grown in the past twelve months or so. Predominantly a midfielder with appealing defensive skills, he was switched to the centre-back slot and the results he churned enabled him to create a name for himself in the good books of the football fraternity.
One of the strongest suits of Hughes is his heading abilities and no wonder why he has emerged as a blossoming central defender. He is strong, has a thorough understanding of the game and the requisite technical edge, has a very good recovery rate and never refrains from getting into tough situations. Besides, he does possess a winning mentality and owing to the same, the Chester Academy graduate was in fact handed the club’s armband which saw him become the youngest skipper ever as he marshalled his teammates last term.
Ever since signing for the Seals, the 20-year-old quickly progressed through the youth ranks and despite suffering a serious injury, he kept hitting the right strings and breezed into the Chester first team in the 2015-16 season. Leicester City have perennially put enormous faith on players from the lower leagues and their apparent interest in taking Hughes to the next level is a testament to the same. The West Kirby youngster is tipped as the future of the Foxes and his fairytale-like move from Chester to Leicester City would enhance his development process further.
