Over the past few years, Leicester City have sent a handful of their academy players out on loan to Belgian side Oud-Heverlee Leuven to gain first team experience. The two clubs are owned by the King Power International Group.
During the last window, Josh Eppiah arrived in Belgium on a season-long loan deal from the Premier League side. The forward, who has represented Leicester U23s, is yet to feature for the Foxes’ first team.
Earlier this week, the 22-year-old made his first appearance for Leuven in their 2-2 draw against Sint-Truiden and got his name on the scoresheet.
Things haven’t been easy for the Leicester owned player in recent years. According to Het Nieuwsblad, the attacker’s development was slowed down by a ‘serious back injury’.
It’s claimed Eppiah’s ‘susceptibility to injury’ had ‘slowed him down’ at the Premier League club, and that is ‘still there’, suggesting he’s still at high risk of picking up injuries.
OH Leuven manager Marc Brys has explained Eppiah has managed to change his opinion after initially having doubts over his loan signing.
“We have to be careful because he has a fragile body and often small aches and pains. We should definitely be careful not to push him into an injury, but sometimes he has to dare to push his limits a bit more in training,” Brys said.
“Last week he did that by training twice a day for the first time and that was better than expected. He’s a good guy who realises what professional football is all about.
“I’m going to be honest: I had my doubts. But he is dispelling those doubts. He picks up everything well and can offer us an extra solution in the front, where we have few alternatives.
“It took a while before we had to recognise his qualities, but in the meantime, he has also convinced the teammates of his potential and that is important for the hierarchy in the group.
“He is a rather timid guy, but he is strong verbally and is good in the group. He is fast and agile… He only has to pick up the condition that the rest of the group has, but he is gradually reducing the gap.”
Eppiah must now focus on playing regularly during his loan stay and be hopeful he can convince Brendan Rodgers to include him in his plans at Leicester next season.
