Maresca’s exit sees Harry Souttar rethinking Leicester’s future

PERTH, Australia — Enzo Maresca’s departure from Leicester City to take over as Chelsea manager has prompted Harry Souttar to reassess his future at the club, with the Australia defender hoping a new manager will remove his need to find minutes in a new team. .

Souttar played just 189 minutes in all competitions as Leicester won promotion back to the Premier League last season, spending the second half of the campaign locked out of matchday squads by Maresca after failing to secure a move in the January window.

Leeds United looked set to land the 25-year-old in January, but with their focus on Australia’s ongoing Asian Cup tilt, the deal fell through on deadline day. No proposed loan for MLS team LA Galaxy has taken place.

But with the departure of Maresca and his backroom staff to London, Souttar is hoping for a fresh start at Leicester, who he joined for an Australian record £15m ($19m) from Stoke after who played in the 2022 World Cup despite recently returning from an ACL injury.

“It would be very clear if (Enzo Maresca) were still there, my situation; to try to leave the club and get more minutes because I’ve missed a lot of football,” Souttar told ESPN.

“To still be selected for the national team, I know I have to play football.

“I just have to wait and see what the club does and who comes in and then try to impress the new manager that comes in. When I come back for pre-season, we’ll probably settle down in a couple of weeks. and chat and see where we are.

“I think that’s the best thing to do. Obviously, we don’t have a manager yet. So I don’t know and I can’t comment or speculate on who it will be.

“But I’ve just got to give myself the best chance to try and impress him and the staff coming in as well. We’ll go from there.”

Australia boss Graham Arnold has consistently picked Souttar for the national team role despite his lack of minutes in clubland, but has signaled repeatedly in recent months that he had to “sort out his club career” to continue be selected.

However, the manager admitted ahead of his side’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Bangladesh last Thursday — in which Souttar played his 15th consecutive game in green and gold — that his exit Maresca added a new dimension to the situation.

Reports have linked the likes of Carlos Corberan, Steve Cooper, Graham Potter and Ole Gunnar Solskjær with the Leicester managerial vacancy.

“I know I don’t play club football and normally that coincides with not playing for your national team,” Souttar said.

“I must thank Arnold very much for the trust he has placed in me; playing when I had no game minutes.

“I’ve always thought that everything I do is my best when I put on that shirt for the nation – and for (Arnold) the same because I know how much faith he has in me, so I’m trying to repay him .

“All I want to do is play, so it’s been a frustrating time.

“I know it’s a massive year coming up for me. I’ll be 26 in October and I know I have to play football.”

Souttar and the Socceroos are in Western Australia on Tuesday for a World Cup qualifier against Palestine, where he is expected to be dropped from the starting XI for two hometown boys, Ipswich Town’s Cameron Burgess and Parma’s Alessandro Circati.

The defender spoke to ESPN at an event marking a collaboration between the national team and the DT38 Foundation — a charity set up in memory of Perth local and former West Ham prospect Dylan Tombides.

An Australian under-23 representative, Tombides died of testicular cancer aged 20 in 2014 — a type of cancer most commonly found in men aged 20 to 44.

“Just check and recheck (for signs of testicular cancer) and get opinions,” Souttar said.