Newly appointed caretaker coach of English Premier League side Leicester City Michael Appleton has suggested that Shinji Okazaki will be his preferred choice to partner Jamie Vardy in attack.
Okazaki was dropped by sacked manager Craig Shakespeare in Leicester City 1-1 draw against West Brom, with Kelechi Iheanacho selected to start in the game which was the last for the sacked manager.
Appleton who was appointed in interim capacity following the sack of Shakespeare made only one change to the line up that drew 1-1 against Leicester City, with Okazaki taking the place of Iheanacho in the starting line up.
Speaking after the game to LCFC TV, Appleton was asked the reason why Iheanacho was the only player axed from the starting line up and he explained by praising Okazaki as the perfect partner to Vardy in attack.
“Shinji did great for us and to be fair when he has played, he’s always done that. What Shinji brings is what he does out of possession. He knows how to deal with a no.6 and the job he did on Leon Britton today was really pleasing”, he said.
“There was an opportunity today to come away from home with a little bit less pressure and put a performance in that would make everybody feel a little better, and I think they did that.”
Michael James
