“Very explosive” – Teammate says Leicester City player with ‘enormous potential’ can ‘do a lot better’

Leicester City’s Ricardo Pereira claims Abdul Fatawu can further improve his game, as long as he can make best use of his qualities.

The Portugal international has been speaking to Expresso, relayed by Record, and the 19-year-old was one of the topics he discussed.

Leicester signed the winger on a loan deal from Sporting last summer, and he’s been a regular under Enzo Maresca this season.

Operating mainly on the right wing, Fatawu has scored two goals and registered seven assists from 23 Championship matches for the Foxes. Pereira is of the belief the Ghana international has to learn “a lot” to continue his development.

“He’s a good guy, sometimes I ask him in Portuguese, and he says he only speaks a little. We joke about it. He still has a lot to learn, but he has enormous potential, he has many qualities, he is fast, he changes direction and speed, he is very explosive. I think he can still do a lot better, but he is 19 years old and has a lot to progress and learn,” he said.

Meanwhile, the fullback has enjoyed a good season so far at Leicester, managing three goals and the same number of assists from 27 games.

Pereira didn’t feature for the national team in September [left out of the squad] and October [unused substitute], before featuring twice in the last international break.

Despite playing in the Championship, the 30-year-old remains hopeful his own displays could be enough to convince Portugal manager Roberto Martínez.

“It’s a bit of the natural way things go, if I’m doing well, playing and with good performances, it can happen. But the focus, at the moment, is on me, on the club, on the next training session and the next game,” Pereira explained.