Caglar Soyuncu emerges as new cult hero at Leicester City

[Babylon]

3 hours ago, mancunianfox said:

Perhaps that is why we had both Ndidi and Hamza in the side against Wolves as they weren't 100% sure if more protection was needed for the back four or not?

Crossed my mind

[HighPeakFox]

I apologise for creating a discussion with a superfluous tautological double negative. 

[Hammo]

A question?

 

Has anyone actually read or heard anything in the national media that reports - or even touches on - what a potentially excellent Maguire replacement Soyuncu is?

 

I haven't.

[Izzy]

16 minutes ago, Hammo said:

A question?

 

Has anyone actually read or heard anything in the national media that reports - or even touches on - what a potentially excellent Maguire replacement Soyuncu is?

 

I haven't.

You mean like this article the OP quoted at the start of the thread?

 

On 17/08/2019 at 13:58, urban.spaceman said:

Caglar Soyuncu emerges as new cult hero at Leicester City as Harry Maguire replacement

• John Percy

Caglar Soyuncu received a standing ovation from Leicester team-mates in the dressing room following his performance against Wolves Credit: Getty Images

There is a huge tattoo of a lion covering his back, while he has the chiselled jaw one might expect of a Marvel superhero. Çağlar Söyüncü is already proving there is life after ‘Slabhead’.

The Turkish centre-back has swiftly emerged as a new cult hero at Leicester City, just a few weeks after Harry Maguire became the most expensive defender in the world with that £85 million move to Manchester United. 

Maguire’s departure to Old Trafford could have been a daunting scenario for Leicester, a damaging blow to Brendan Rodgers’s hopes of gatecrashing the top six, yet the plan was already in place last year for Söyüncü to be the long-term successor.

Against Wolves last Sunday, in only his fifth Premier League start, the giant defender known as ‘Cags’ seized his opportunity and received a standing ovation from team-mates in the dressing room after the final whistle.

He is poised to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend alongside the vastly experienced Jonny Evans, aiming to enhance his reputation further.

 

It is a challenging task for Caglar Soyuncu to fill the boots of Harry Maguire Credit: Getty Images

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“All the players were so happy for him last weekend because it’s not easy to replace someone of Harry’s quality,” Rodgers told Telegraph Sport.

“With Harry going, of course ‘Cags’ is now going to have his chance. He is a modern-day centre-half and there were teams willing to sign him [this summer] if he wasn’t going to play here.

“He was outstanding last weekend and now it’s about sustaining it and showing consistency over the course of the season. He’s a wee bit quirky with his hairdo and everything, and the fans have taken to him.”

It is certainly a challenging task for a 23-year-old to fill the boots of Maguire, a player who transformed his career at Leicester and became a World Cup hero with England, but Söyüncü replacing Maguire was always in the thoughts of Leicester’s recruitment team.

 

The LCFC Stat Man @TheLCFCStatMan

 

 

Caglar Soyuncu, game by numbers:

86 touches
71 / 77 passes completed (92% )
5 aerial duels won
3 tackles won
3 clearances#lcfc #LEIWOL @Syncaglar

 

357

9:10 PM - Aug 11, 2019

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He made his senior Turkey debut as a teenager and became sought after across Europe during his spell in the Bundesliga with SC Freiburg, where he was watched consistently by Leicester’s scouts for 12 months.

United had been considering a move for Maguire last summer, when Jose Mourinho was still in charge, so Leicester were aware that contingency plans had to be made.

Söyüncü was signed for €20 million last August while another young centre-half, Filip Benković, was signed from Dinamo Zagreb on the same day.

With Benković quickly loaned out to Celtic - then managed by Rodgers - it was, at times, a frustrating season for Söyüncü with Maguire, Evans and Wes Morgan the usual picks at the heart of the back four under first Claude Puel and then Rodgers.

“I spoke to him at the end of last season as he hadn’t played much, but I liked what I’d seen,” said Rodgers.

Harry Maguire left Leicester for Man Utd this summer Credit: Reuters

“I put him in against Huddersfield [on April 6] because I wanted to give Harry a bit of time off to be with his wife and child. He's had that first year where he had to adapt with a lot of players in front of him, but he’d made a great impression.”

United finally completed their protracted pursuit of Maguire on the morning of August 2. It may have been a world record fee for a defender, but Leicester’s stance was purely dictated by market forces, with the £50 million paid out by United to Crystal Palace for Aaron Wan-Bissaka - who made just 46 appearances for the club - reinforcing their position. 

Leicester did consider moves for either Burnley’s James Tarkowski or Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake, who have both been on the radar for some time. 

However, when it became clear that the fees demanded were unrealistic, the original plan to promote Söyüncü fell into place. After last weekend’s man-of-the-match performance against Wolves, it already appears a shrewd move.

Söyüncü’s idols are Carles Puyol and Mats Hummels, and there are easy comparisons with Maguire in that both players possess a wide range of passing and good temperament.

He is low-maintenance, unfailingly polite but with a rock-solid handshake, and “just gets on with the job”. Some Leicester staff have compared him to Marcin Wasilewski, a popular Polish defender from a few years back, and this weekend on the BBC’s Football Focus Ben Chilwell and James Maddison both revealed Söyüncü is under constant scrutiny due to his unique haircut.

There is nothing questionable over his abilities as a player, however, as underlined by the round of applause last Sunday.

Gerry Taggart, the former Leicester defender who now covers games for the club’s TV station, said: “Other ex-Leicester players have put question marks around him but I’ve always been telling people he has something.

“This guy has what it takes. He has been thrown in at the deep end but I think he keeps it simple. He has the ability to see who is in the better position and pulls it off with his passing. He’s been a bit rash in the past but he has many of the same attributes when I was young, and I think he’s given himself a tremendous start.”

 

[Hammo]

7 minutes ago, Izzy said:

You mean like this article the OP quoted at the start of the thread?

 

 

An itk like Percy doesn't really count.

 

But thanks all the same 

[StanSP]

12 minutes ago, Hammo said:

An itk like Percy doesn't really count.

 

But thanks all the same 

What?

 

He's a journalist in the national media praising how much of a cult hero Soyuncu could become.

 

Exactly what you want  

[Hammo]

8 minutes ago, StanSP said:

What?

 

He's a journalist in the national media praising how much of a cult hero Soyuncu could become.

 

Exactly what you want  

Yeah I know, you're absolutely right, but i've always been a bit choosy!

 

Percy is too 'easy', he's almost one of our own, if you like.

 

I want one of those lazy big-six-obsessed journos/pundits/gobshites to see the light and give us some credit.

[ChownLC]

Sounds abit of a nutter, love it.

 

 

[ALC Fox]

3 hours ago, Hammo said:

A question?

 

Has anyone actually read or heard anything in the national media that reports - or even touches on - what a potentially excellent Maguire replacement Soyuncu is?

 

I haven't.

Listening to the Utd-Wolves game earlier, I believe Arlo White mentioned, in reference to Harry Maguire, that it was a bit like 'Harry who?' at Leicester after Soyuncu's performances in the last couple of games.

 

I believe Arlo is from Leicester as well though, so I guess he'd be more likely to mention something of the sort than some other commentators.

 

Interestingly one of his summarisers for tonight's game was FT villain of the moment Chris Sutton. Sutton's silence on Arlo's little nugget of information about Leicester was also quite interesting, although perhaps I'm just stirring the pot there!

[Stadt]

1 hour ago, InLoveWithNgolo said:

Sounds abit of a nutter, love it.

 

 

Chilwell is much more likeable than Maddison

[Fox_in_a_Box]

Love the guy and he's been brilliant these past two games but he scares the shit out of me when he comes flying out from the back to try and win the ball. Hes rapid and comes out of nowhere but if he ****s it up we're in trouble. 

[sm1]

4 hours ago, Hammo said:

A question?

 

Has anyone actually read or heard anything in the national media that reports - or even touches on - what a potentially excellent Maguire replacement Soyuncu is?

 

I haven't.

He's in Garth Crooks "team of the week". This is what he has to say about him:

Caglar Soyuncu: He saw off Olivier Giroud, then Tammy Abraham; Willian then came on, thought about it and didn't fancy it. Caglar Soyuncu was clearly punching above his weight but that never seemed to bother him.

Leicester City's centre-back out-battled and out-fought Chelsea's big guns and both were sent packing by the Turkish international. This kid has a real battling spirit and I liked it.

Did you know? Soyuncu attempted 13 more passes than any other Leicester player in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49388521

 

[UpTheLeagueFox]

3 hours ago, ALC Fox said:

I believe Arlo (White) is from Leicester

He is indeed and he's also one of us.

 

We played football against each other at school level then many years later ended up in the same profession (him far more successful but deservedly so as he's effortlessly brilliant - and he's a great bloke to boot)

[KingsX]

9 hours ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

He is indeed and he's also one of us.

 

We played football against each other at school level then many years later ended up in the same profession (him far more successful but deservedly so as he's effortlessly brilliant - and he's a great bloke to boot)

 

Do I remember right that he ended up with the NBC Premier League gig after relocating to the US to announce NFL games back to the UK?

 

Anyway, he's our gain in the US.  I massively enjoy his and Lee Dixon's work on the NBC PL matches.  Mustoe and Earle are decent in the studio too.  What I read on here about the pundits on Sky and BBC makes me wonder how good broadcasting talent ends up educating Americans, while alcoholic ex-players clog the UK airwaves.

 

EDIT:  @UpTheLeagueFox  spill the beans, Mr Peters.  Who was the better footballer, you or Arlo?

Edited 20 August 2019 by KingsX

[Ric Flair]

The LCFC social media department seem to be making a huge fuss of him and I love it. Stoking up this folk hero status is important, we knew there was a player in there and circumstances are now affording us to see him progress. Its early days but I'm fully confident he will be superb for us.

[nwl fox]

9 hours ago, Hammo said:

Yeah I know, you're absolutely right, but i've always been a bit choosy!

 

Percy is too 'easy', he's almost one of our own, if you like.

 

I want one of those lazy big-six-obsessed journos/pundits/gobshites to see the light and give us some credit.

Why, so they can then start their Campaign for him to go to a "bigger" club more deserving of his talent. Happy for him to stay under the radar as long as possible thanks! 

[Leeds Fox]

3 hours ago, KingsX said:

 

Do I remember right that he ended up with the NBC Premier League gig after relocating to the US to announce NFL games back to the UK?

 

Anyway, he's our gain in the US.  I massively enjoy his and Lee Dixon's work on the NBC PL matches.  Mustoe and Earle are decent in the studio too.  What I read on here about the pundits on Sky and BBC makes me wonder how good broadcasting talent ends up educating Americans, while alcoholic ex-players clog the UK airwaves.

 

The Ex-pros like Merson wouldn’t cut it over in the States. Talking absolute drivel pre and post match. They’re in the comfort zone of a ‘jobs for the boys’ environment. Unfortunately we’re stuck with them until the next generation take over.

[weller54]

47 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

The LCFC social media department seem to be making a huge fuss of him and I love it. Stoking up this folk hero status is important, we knew there was a player in there and circumstances are now affording us to see him progress. Its early days but I'm fully confident he will be superb for us.

Good Lord. 

[Ric Flair]

4 hours ago, KingsX said:

 

Do I remember right that he ended up with the NBC Premier League gig after relocating to the US to announce NFL games back to the UK?

 

Anyway, he's our gain in the US.  I massively enjoy his and Lee Dixon's work on the NBC PL matches.  Mustoe and Earle are decent in the studio too.  What I read on here about the pundits on Sky and BBC makes me wonder how good broadcasting talent ends up educating Americans, while alcoholic ex-players clog the UK airwaves.

Are they all based out there or is there a studio in London they use? 

[Ric Flair]

22 minutes ago, weller54 said:

Good Lord. 

Farquaad?

[KFS]

6 hours ago, KingsX said:

 

Do I remember right that he ended up with the NBC Premier League gig after relocating to the US to announce NFL games back to the UK?

 

Anyway, he's our gain in the US.  I massively enjoy his and Lee Dixon's work on the NBC PL matches.  Mustoe and Earle are decent in the studio too.  What I read on here about the pundits on Sky and BBC makes me wonder how good broadcasting talent ends up educating Americans, while alcoholic ex-players clog the UK airwaves.

If we don’t have Arlo commentating, I watch our games in silence quite honestly.    

[ALC Fox]

6 hours ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

He is indeed and he's also one of us.

 

We played football against each other at school level then many years later ended up in the same profession (him far more successful but deservedly so as he's effortlessly brilliant - and he's a great bloke to boot)

You guys are living a dream of mine. I'd love to write and broadcast about sport, and football specifically, for a living. Keep up the great work 

[ScouseFox]

the turks are bloody great aren’t they, commented on cags photo calling him a gangster and got a fair few responses from them like this 

[KingsX]

4 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Are they all based out there or is there a studio in London they use? 

 

I know the NBC studio team are based somewhere in the US because they make a big deal of annual trip(s) back to the UK.  Not so good is a tie-in with Sky Sports where they relocated to Sky's studios for deadline day.  We have been "treated" to Sky's deadline day show for two years running. 

 

Would also mention that unlike NBC's, ESPN's English PL pundits are run-of-the-mill to poor IMO.  Steve Nicol, for one example, comes across like a lazy drunk in the pub; you'd never know he coached (or even watched the games).

[Goober]

The man even wears black boots. Cult hero describes him perfectly, absolute tank