The attacking midfielder has had a quick turnaround this week after being called up to train alongside Lionel Messi and the Argentina squad over the past week or so
Steve Cooper has challenged Facundo Buonanotte to prove he can adapt to a top player’s schedule and make an impact for Leicester City this weekend.
The teenager, one of City’s top performers so far this season, only returned from Argentina duty on Thursday morning. After a long-haul flight, he was due to train on Thursday afternoon to get himself ready for a crucial match at Southampton on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
It’s a quick turnaround for the attacking midfielder, but it’s something he will have to get used to if he wants to be both a star in the Premier League and for his country. After his match-winning goal against Bournemouth a fortnight ago, Cooper, hinting he will start the 19-year-old, is hoping he can deliver again against one of City’s expected relegation rivals.
“We haven’t seen him yet, he’s on his way back as of now, so we’ll have to see what it looks like for the weekend,” Cooper said, speaking on Thursday morning. “In terms of the internationals he’s obviously really made up and desperately keen to go and represent Argentina which, you know, a lot of international boys do and enjoy.
“I guess you can look at that in two ways: is it ideal planning or is it just the life of an international player in a different continent? He’s not the only South American returning (to the Premier League), so it’s just part of the normality of these weeks with players coming in.
“For anyone who wants to become a top player, the international schedule is something they have to get used to. He comes back on Thursday, then we go to Southampton, and it’s not around the corner. But for Facundo, it’s a great opportunity for him to show what he can do. That’s his little challenge for Saturday.”
With two goals and two assists so far, Buonanotte has made an instant impact for City. While he is young, he did get a decent amount of game-time with Brighton last season and that’s allowed him to bed in at City more quickly.
Cooper said: “He made 27 league appearances for Brighton last season and that’s probably why we are seeing him being more than capable of being in the Premier League as a young player. We’ve also gone through a little bit of that process of showing some things we’ve got from certain games and getting him up to speed and in our ideas.
“He’s definitely taken his opportunities so far. We’re continuing to enjoy working with him and certainly in his first-half performance against Bournemouth he showed that he’s a player that can make a difference.
“He’s aggressive without the ball. We have to make sure we give him the platform to work with it. Although he’s not ours, we’ll still commit to him like he’s ours.
“He’s definitely got that wonder, you can see he loves football and wants to play. Young players should have that wonder of going to do things, being a free spirit. You should never try to take that away from a player of his type.”
FOR MORE NEWS CLICK HERE
Leave a Reply