8 Kasper Schmeichel – Leicester City
When Kasper Schmeichel had signed for Leicester City, there was relatively little fanfare, given that a promising start to his career at Manchester City had descended into unfortunate spells at Notts County and Leeds United. However, after five seasons with the club, the Dane has emulated his celebrated father, Peter Schmeichel, by winning the Premier League.
Leicester City have had many stars this season, but Schmeichel is one of the unsung ones. The Foxes were unable to keep clean sheets at the start of the season, despite which Schmeichel has racked up 15 by the end. What has been typical of Schmeichel’s season is his penchant for making stunning saves at crucial moments, with the ones against Manchester City and Tottenham being instrumental in earning the Foxes some points against their title rivals.
A curious part of Schmeichel’s play this season has been his distribution stats, which are at an astonishingly low 39% accuracy. This is a bit of a revelation of Schmeichel actually being one of Leicester’s playmakers, as the number of times the Dane has played a risky long ball aimed at Jamie Vardy, has resulted in a few goals.
It’s rather odd, then that Barcelona are rumoured to have an interest in Schmeichel – perhaps the Catalans have realised that possession isn’t the point of football?
| 2015/16 Stats | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 39 |
| Goals Conceded | 39 |
| Clean Sheets | 15 |
| Saves (League only) | 77 |
| Saves Per Goal (League only) | 2.2 |
| Penalties Saved / Conceded (League only) | 0/3 |
| Distribution accuracy (League only) | 39% |
