‘He is unbelievable’: cool Fofana fires Leicester’s hopes while fasting

In a city of innovation and a country considered the Silicon Valley of Europe, it was James Maddison who electrified Leicester City’s path to a first European semi-final, his equaliser sparking a comeback victory on a memorable night in Eindhoven, but he was not the only one to impress.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the homegrown midfielder who spent last season on loan at Luton, was name-checked by the PSV manager, Roger Schmidt, as Leicester’s outstanding talent and the full-back Ricardo Pereira slotted in the winning goal two minutes from time to tee up a Europa Conference League tie against Roma. Then there was Wesley Fofana, whose performance was so typically peerless, quietly hoovering up in defence and pouring cold water on PSV attacks, it has become the norm.

But it would be wrong to gloss over Fofana’s abundant class. The defender, who turned 21 at the end of last year, returned to first-team action only last month in the previous round, scoring at Rennes after seven months of rehabilitation from a broken leg and damaged ankle ligaments, some of which he spent building strength in the sandpit at Leicester’s sprawling 185-acre Seagrave training base.

Fofana used his pace to get teammates out of trouble and plays with a maturity that belies his years. After Philipp Max got in down the left flank, Fofana rushed in to extinguish the danger before dragging his teammates up the pitch, and seconds before Maddison equalised he curtailed a PSV attack. On the hour, he cleanly raked the ball clear of Cody Gakpo and earlier ate up ground to block Eran Zahavi’s route to goal.

The good news for Leicester is that Fofana, who harbours ambitions to play for France, recently signed a new five-year contract. “His anticipation as a