Claude Puel Heaps Praise on Leicester's Young Guns Following FA Cup Triumph Against Peterborough

Leicester manager Claude Puel has showered praise on the club's young players after the Foxes emphatically secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup

Leicester manager Claude Puel has showered praise on the club's young players after the Foxes emphatically secured their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup after dispatching Peterborough in a 5-1 victory on Saturday.  

The Foxes boss rung in the changes for the visit to the League One side as he placed his faith in the young brigade, and they did not disappoint. Two goals each from Kelechi Iheanacho and debutant Fousseni Diabate and a last-minute strike from Wilfred Ndidi ensured victory following a ruthless first half display.

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Leicester were three goals to the good inside the opening half hour, and despite conceding a consolation goal through Andrew Hughes, Puel was delighted with the display.

“It was a good experience to start the game well, especially after what happened against Fleetwood. It was a good response and a good cup game. We showed good quality and good play," Puel told the club's website.

"It’s important to give young players game time so they can show their qualities for the future. These young players can be the future of Leicester City.

Diabate and Iheanacho will get the headlines. Demarai Gray also excellent again with that pace and directness. #lcfc

— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) January 27, 2018

“It was a good game with good quality. We knew it would be a tough cup game with all the rain and the wind. It was important for us to show good quality and have some good battles.

“It was important to play good football and we scored fantastic goals in the first half. We tried to keep control of the game. It was good to put an opponent with quality under pressure. We scored early and kept good control to prevent them coming back into the game.

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“We have to keep good condition of players in cup games because the cup is an objective for us, but we also have to improve the squad and give our talented young players games. It’s important to develop the squad,” he added.

Although members of his squad impressed across the park, the 56-year-old singled out Diabaté for praise, the 22-year-old secured a brace on his debut and his manager is eager for him to kick on and earn an appearance in the Premier League.

Puel said: “Fousseni [Diabaté] has good attributes to play in the Premier League with lots of pace and a good engine. He has good penetration and showed good combinations with his team-mates.

“It was good for him to show his quality but he has to continue to work hard on the training pitch and take things step-by-step.”