Enzo Maresca provides Leicester City player with boost amid claim | OneFootball

Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca has backed James Justin to win a decent amount of game time for the Foxes despite spending much of the campaign on the bench, speaking to Leicestershire Live.

The full-back would have been hoping to secure a decent amount of first-team football under his belt, with the player able to operate on both sides.

Not only would he have been hoping that his ability to play on both sides would have boosted his game time, but also the fact that the Foxes have lost some full-backs on either side.

Maresca's side didn't bring in a natural full-back, but lost Ryan Bertrand, Daniel Amartey and Timothy Castagne in the summer, with Leicester opting to sell the latter during the late stages of the summer window.

They have also sent Victor Kristiansen and Luke Thomas out on loan, which could boost his game time.

Making just 14 league appearances last term, Justin will be hoping to win much more game time this term but has only appeared three times in all competitions during the 2023/24 campaign so far.

Callum Doyle has been the main main to start on the left-hand side, either as a full-back or a centre-back, and is currently keeping Justin out of the starting lineup as things stand.

The Manchester City loanee didn't enjoy a good day against Hull City, being beaten on a number of occasions including early on when Liam Delap scored the only goal of the game.

But it may take a lot for Maresca to drop Doyle considering his ability and potential.

Considering his lack of appearances, it was previously unclear whether Justin would be a key part of Maresca's plans.

But the latter has heavily praised the Foxes' full-back and believes he will win a decent amount of game time in the future.

He said: "The only thing I can say is that I love JJ. The way he works, the way he is, I really love JJ. He is going to help us 100 per cent. Now he is not playing but I am sure he is going to play a lot of games with us.

"With Hamza (Choudhury), they work very well. These players are going to stay. We need them. We need JJ, we need Hamza, we need these types of players."

Where could James Justin fit into Leicester's team?

Justin could potentially replace Ricardo Pereira if required, but he may have a better chance of securing more first-team football on the left-hand side.

He could either replace Doyle at full-back - or he could come in as a left wing-back to support Doyle.

You feel Doyle will be able to play well as a left centre-back, but he does struggle out wide at times and it would be good to have someone like Justin who can help when the Foxes have lost the ball and are in transition.

It's a big ask for Justin to get back quickly considering he's a wing-back and will be expected to be higher up the pitch if he's in that role, but he needs to utilise his speed to provide support to Doyle and ensure Leicester are defending in a back five when they need to.