Steve Cooper
Leicester City are trying to plot the right path for Will Alves’s development and that could see the teenage starlet head out on loan. City’s Carabao Cup tie against Tranmere on Tuesday night had seemed like the ideal occasion to give Alves his first senior appearance in more than 18 months. But a possible move away before Friday’s transfer deadline may see him miss out. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder has trained with the first team through the summer and featured in most of the pre-season friendlies, signing a new deal to 2028 earlier this month. He was left out of the matchday squad for the opening two Premier League games, but potential rotation for the cup offered Alves an opportunity to make his first senior outing since his knee ligament tear in December 2022. Asked if Alves was in contention to play against Tranmere,
Steve Cooper said “Will is very much with us. We just need to make the right decisions on some of these young players and what could be right for them going forward. It’s about their development and regular game-time. Will’s a player we really like. Getting him to the level of being a regular in our first team, we need to try to plot that for him and see what that looks like.”
Rotation is expected when City host their League Two opponents, with Cooper having one eye on the weekend’s all-Midlands affair with Aston Villa. Caleb Okoli could make his debut for the club, while Oliver Skipp and Jordan Ayew may be handed their first starts. City beat Tranmere 2-0 at this stage of the Carabao Cup last season, but they will arrive at the King Power Stadium in good form. They’ve made an unbeaten start in the league, where they are yet to concede a goal, with their only defeat this term coming in the EFL Trophy against Everton Under-21s.
Steve Cooper said “Do you make a load of changes or do you carry on playing the same team? Whatever team we play on Tuesday, it will be with the intention of winning and it will definitely be capable of winning, whether that’s with wholesale changes, a few changes, or something in between. “It’s early in the season, and we have to recover well. The physical demands are a lot higher than in the Championship, so it might take longer to recover, but we’ll deal with all of that. For sure, we’ll be putting a team out with the expectation of playing well and playing our way and getting through to the next tie.”
