Tactical analyst Dominic Wells believes he saw “some philosophies that remain from the Enzo Maresca era” during Leicester City’s first pre-season friendlies under new manager Steve Cooper.
Maresca led the Foxes to the Championship title last season before leaving for Chelsea in June, with formerNottingham Forest manager Cooper replacing him.
Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester’s When You’re Smiling podcast, Wells said: “The biggest takeaway for me is how Cooper is trying to play in a similar way to Maresca.
“The way he achieves that end result is definitely different and there is fluidity to it, but what I think is really interesting is that Cooper is trying to build on the positives from last season.
“He’s not trying to come in and say ‘let’s play my style of football’, he’s trying to adapt to what was done the previous year, which was a good year of building the squad and we have the right profile to play as Maresca wanted. He’s trying to build on that, rather than saying ‘now we’re going to counter-attack and defensive football’.”
Former Foxes winger Matt Piper added: “It’s the smartest thing to do. If you go in and something isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it.
“Because of the level these players reached last season and how well they took Enzo’s systems and made them work on the field, you don’t want to change too much.
“He has to implement his own style and I’m sure he’s doing that. The result of where he’s trying to get to is very similar, but it’s very different in the construction and the way he’s trying to do it.”
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