Leicester City supervisor Brendan Rodgers has heaped reward on new Foxes signing Harry Souttar, saying the Socceroos defender “fits the model” required to reach the English Premier League.
Souttar this week joined Leicester from second-tier Stoke City on a 5 and a half 12 months $A26 million deal.
However, a “hip issue” might stop Souttar from making his Leicester debut early on Sunday morning (AEDT) at Villa Park.
“He’s one I need to assess,” Rodgers mentioned.
“He‘ll certainly be ready to go for the following weekend.”
The sooner 24-year-old Souttar plays, the better for Rodgers, who is full of admiration for the towering Scotland-born centre-back, who defied a long spell on the sidelines with a serious knee injury to be among the Socceroos’ heroes eventually 12 months’s World Cup.
“I saw Harry as a younger player; the trauma of him coming through the bad injury he had and then his performances for Stoke and at the World Cup,” Rodgers mentioned.
“I also talked to a number of people I really respect in the game who spoke so highly of him, and I can see why, having now met him and spoken with him.
“He’s a young player on the way up who’s done really well in the (English) Championship … and now he’s coming in to show us his qualities in the Premier League.
“He gives us that stature we’ve been looking for, but as you’ve seen at the World Cup, he can play football as well.
“It’s about hunger as well. He was available and affordable for where we were at. If it wasn’t us, he’d have gone to another good club.
“He’s got experience but is on his way up. If you have the ability and thirst to learn, we’ll see great improvements in him. He fits the model.”
Originally revealed as Leicester City supervisor Brendan Rodgers showers reward on Socceroos defender Harry Souttar
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
