The Leicester City midfielder has done well when called on in his debut season.
Injuries to Wilfred Ndidi and Hamza Choudhury left the Foxes a bit light in central midfield ahead of their last league game against Manchester City.
Rodgers turned to summer signing Dennis Praet and the Belgian repaid the faith with a fine performance. The Foxes boss hailed his display against the Champions despite not naturally being a defensive midfielder.
He said: “I thought he was outstanding in the game. Every time he’s played, he’s been good or he’s been excellent. He always gives something to the team. He’s not naturally a defensive midfielder, but he has the discipline. He tracked runners and filled the space. On the ball, he was very good too.”
Although Leicester did not get anything out of the game, Praet looked impressive. The Belgian maintained a stunning 100% passing accuracy, completed 100% of his attempted dribbles, won three ground duels and made three interceptions. (SofaScore)
The 25-year-old has only started nine times in the league this season. When everybody is fit, Leicester’s midfield is incredibly competitive but with Champions League football likely next season, he will play a lot more in his second year in England.
Praet isn’t necessarily a number six but he has played there before for Sampdoria. His positional awareness is very good and his range of passing from the deep could help release the likes of Jamie Vardy through on goal in an instant.
With Choudhury back in contention for Friday’s game against Norwich, it will be interesting to see if Rodgers continues with Praet in midfield but it will certainly not be a surprise if he does.
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