Leicester youngster offers glowing praise of Russell Martin during pre-season

Leicester City is currently three wins from three in pre-season, with the latest victory seeing them ease past fellow League One side Burton Albion 3-0.

It is unusual for teams to play each other in pre-season, who will then face off against each other in regular league action, but that was the case for the match-up between the Brewers and the Foxes, with Russell Martin's men reigning supreme.

This is hopefully a good omen for their League One meeting in August, as Martin prays for a flawless opening month of the campaign, to start their promotion journey in style.

The 40-year-old has utilised a lot of youngsters so far for these friendly clashes, with Kirsten Otchere on the scorehseet again versus Gary Bowyer's hosts, having also scored against Bristol Rovers.

He will be hopeful of some first-team action when League One football hits the calendar, especially as the striker positions at the one-time Premier League champions remain light, for the time being, due to Danny Ings' expected move falling through.

Louis Page will be confident he can be in and around the senior picture, too, going forward, with the 18-year-old another impressive star of the future against Burton.

Page's impressive pre-season

Page does already have 21 senior appearances under his belt with the Foxes, but he's yet to hit the ground running in the daunting men's scene.

Indeed, he has just one assist to shout about from those 21 appearances, with the teenager failing to gain consistent minutes under both Marti Cifuentes and Gary Rowett.

Could Martin be the manager to finally get the very best out of the exciting prodigy?

Pre-season has seen Page shine, so this might well be the case, with Leicestershire Live journalist Josh Holland hailing one bit of skill from the midfielder as an "unreal" bit of play, mid-way through the comfortable 3-0 win over the Brewers.

Martin is known to love putting his arm around youngsters to get more out of them, with the likes of Tyler Dibling never looking back after gaining first-team minutes under the Scotsman at Southampton, as he is now being looked at by RB Leipzig on the books of Everton.

Page will want to be the next youngster that comes good under Martin's wing, and the teenage sensation has been very complimentary of his new manager, when speaking this summer.

He has been very complimentary of Martin

Speaking with the aforementioned Holland as pre-season preparations continue, the spritely midfielder has loved every single minute of the off-season so far.

He said, rather chirpily: “It’s been really good. The manager has given me lots of confidence to go and play, whether in the six or eight. He’s given me real good confidence to play my football.”

While other managers such as Cifuentes weren't so willing to unleash Page into the first team, it does appear as if Martin is ready to inject his own first team ranks with a youthful boost.

It isn't just Page catching the eye, with Otchere banging the pre-season goals in to try and stake a claim for a main spot in League One.

Alongside him, there's also Will Alves, who has been in amongst the goals, too, with Page's midfield teammate versus Burton in Sammy Braybrooke yet another highly rated starlet, who has even had Andres Iniesta comparisons.

Stating at the close of the emphatic Burton win that he wants to "become a main player in this team and start all the games I can", it is an exciting time to be a Leicester fan at the moment, as the stale first team members that have let the team down so badly over the last two seasons look to have made way for the next generation to excel.

Now, it's up to Page and Co. to live up to their hype, as the budding group aim to win promotion.

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This article was originally published on foxesofleicester.com as Leicester youngster offers glowing praise of Russell Martin during pre-season.