Why a contract extension for Josh Eppiah by Leicester City is a wasteful move
According to Leicestershire Live, young striker Josh Eppiah has signed contract extensions at Leicester City.
The 21-year-old Eppiah currently plays for Leicester’s under-23 side and is yet to feature for the Foxes’ senior squad. Eppiah, who had struggled with his share of injuries scored his first goal in 20 months when he returned for Leicester’s under-23 squad at the start of this season.
He finished the campaign with four goals and as many assists to his name before coronavirus stopped play. Despite undergoing his development in their reserve squad and proving his potential, Eppiah has found it hard to break into the first-team all these years.
He left the side’s under-18 side to join the reserve squad back in 2017 but has still failed to make his senior bow due to the presence of strikers such as Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho.
Eppiah surplus to requirements at Leicester City
Vardy still remains the side’s first-choice striker and is in sensational form this season, with 19 goals to his name from 29 league appearances. The 33-year-old has time and again proved that age is just a number, with his consistent goal-scoring prowess.
Vardy is currently the Premier League’s top-scorer this season and it’s not hard to figure out why he still remains the main man in front of goal for Leicester City. In fact, he is one of the finest finishers England has produced in the last decade, with 99 goals to his name from 205 Premier League outings.
He is also a Premier League winner with the Foxes back in the 2015-16 season and is one of the main reasons for Leicester’s rise over the years. Meanwhile, back-up man Iheanacho has undergone drastic improvement this season and has delivered when offered a chance.
He has racked up 8 goals and 4 assists from 20 appearances across all competitions, proving that he is a talent who should not be written off. Though he had suffered a slump in form last season, he has shut down his critics with his impressive displays this season, suggesting why Leicester still hold him in the side.
32-year-old Slimani, on the other hand, is back in the side after a stellar loan spell with Ligue 1 side Monaco. He scored 9 goals and provided 7 assists for the French side from just 18 games, proving that he is still lethal in the attack at this age.
With Leicester already filled with so many talented strikers in its ranks, a new deal for young Eppiah seems totally unnecessary. He looks surplus to the club’s requirements and the Foxes’ decision to offer him a new deal feels like a wasteful move.
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Verdict
Considering Vardy and Iheanacho’s good form, opportunities will be very rare for academy graduate Eppiah in the coming days. Moreover, he has still failed to break into the first-team line-up despite joining their under-23 side three years back. Rather than offering him a new contract they should have let go of him and used that money to strengthen areas that need improvement.