Three new signings have brought ‘freshness’

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers believes his new signings have brought a “freshness” to the camp as they aim to push up the Premier League.

After a quiet summer transfer window, the Foxes brought three new players in during the January transfer window in the form of Brazilian winger Tete, defender Victor Kristiansen and Australia international Harry Souttar.

Rodgers’ side made a slow start to the season, losing six of their first seven league matches – including a 6-2 defeat to Tottenham – but have since picked up six wins in their rise up to 14th, heading into their home fixture with Spurs.

The City manager insists his side showed “resilience” in their 4-2 victory over Aston Villa last time out and the new signings have been a breath of fresh air within the squad.

He told a press conference: “Having experienced winning teams, that’s what we needed. The three guys (Tete, Kristiansen and Souttar) have brought freshness, balance and competition.

“With players coming back, we’re hoping to push on. It was a fantastic win. We weren’t perfect but we showed lots of quality. We showed resilience to come from behind twice. We deserved to win.”

“If you bring in new players with new hunger, that will improve the ones you have. Hopefully I’ve shown we can have success.”

Leicester ended a run of five league games without a win with a vital win over Aston Villa on Saturday out but welcome a confident Tottenham side fresh from their heroics over title chasers Manchester City.

Harry Kane broke the club goal scoring record with the only goal of the game last weekend, taking him to 267 in the colours of Spurs and Rodgers feels the England captain has been “relentless” in his rise amongst the top names in the Premier League.

“He has absolutely everything,” continued Rodgers.

“He’s a world-class player. It’s not just the consistency – he’s been relentless.

“It’s not by accident. It’s hard work on the training field. He’s got every tool that you would want as a top striker. He scores goals, he links the game, he’s tough, he’s mentally strong. He’s a brilliant player, a great leader.”

During their below-par start to the campaign, Leicester ran into red-hot Spurs as they were demolished 6-2, thanks to a second-half Son Heung-min hat-trick, back in September.

Rodgers thinks his side have a great chance, having learnt from the last time the two sides met.

He added: “We’ve played them before and won before. We understand their strengths. They’re very good on the counter.

“They have good speed and can make the final pass. Against teams like Spurs, you have to concentrate. We were well in the game for 70 minutes at their place – then we showed naivety.

“Against a team like Tottenham who are very good when they break out, you have to make sure the team is set up well and slow down the counters.

“You want to go after the game, but you have to be really careful against Tottenham in that aspect. We scored goals and created more chances. If we can close the game, we have a great chance.”

Ricardo Pereira has returned to full training and is back in contention to play as Leicester look to make it three matches unbeaten in all competitions.

The 29-year-old has been out with an Achilles injury since pre-season but played in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Sevilla earlier this week.

Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi was sidelined with a muscle issue last weekend and also returns to the fray, but skipper Jonny Evans continues to recover from a calf issue.