Wes Morgan Leicester City
Leicester City miss the presence of experienced defenders Wes Morgan and Christian Fuchs in their squad, manager Brendan Rodgers has said. Asked how clubs cope when important players leave in light of Chris Wood’s move from Burnley to Newcastle this week, Rodgers said: “We had it here when Harry (Maguire) left in my first summer, and then we had Ben (Chilwell) leave. You just have to adjust.
Brendan Rodgers said “It’s always difficult when you lose top players but you’re looking to the next one to come in and you grow and develop from there. If you have someone who’s a key player in your team, it’s always a disappointment. It’s not just the player, it’s the personality around the place as well. I think now, we’ve had Christian Fuchs who left here, and Wes Morgan as well, in the summer. I miss them as people as much as players. They were good guys, they were great to have around, and they set a standard. So it’s as much the person you miss as well as the player. Chris being there for a few years, he’s been very important for Burnley, and I’m sure he’ll do a great job for Newcastle.”
The title-winning pair both said emotional farewells to the King Power Stadium in the summer, Morgan retiring and Fuchs finally keeping his promise to join his family in the US. Neither played a great deal of football in their final year at the club – Morgan’s eight-minute cameo in the FA Cup final was his first game in five months, while Fuchs also only made one appearance in the second half of the campaign – and so their absences have not been felt on the pitch. However, both had years of experience at the top of leading squads, with Morgan captain at City for nearly a decade, and Fuchs skipper for the Austrian national team. It is that off-the-pitch know-how that Rodgers says he has missed this term.
While Morgan retired, Fuchs is still playing, and next month could make his debut for the club he joined from City. The left-back signed up with MLS’s newest club Charlotte FC last summer, and they will play their first-ever game in the US top flight when the 2022 season begins next month. In the second half of last year, Fuchs turned out for their sister club Charlotte Independence.
