“Leicester City’s SHOCKING Signing Scandal: Star’s Absence Sparks Wild Future Prediction You WON’T Believe!”
£3m Leicester City Full-Back Yet to Feature Since February After Limited Game Time
Woyo Coulibaly is expected to be ready to “knock on the door” for a first-team role next season following a challenging start to his Leicester City career.
Signed in January for £3 million from Parma, the 25-year-old full-back has made just one start—against Brentford in February—and hasn’t featured since.
Coulibaly didn’t make the squad for Leicester’s recent match against Ipswich and appears to be behind James Justin, Ricardo Pereira, Luke Thomas, and Victor Kristiansen in the pecking order.
Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, who brought him in as his only signing, believes Coulibaly needs more time to adapt to English football. However, he expects the Frenchman to make a stronger push after a full pre-season.
“He’s been part of the squad,” van Nistelrooy said. “There’s strong competition with Justin performing well and Ricardo returning from injury.
Coulibaly is training and developing, but he still needs time to adjust. I think next season’s pre-season will be key for him to really stake his claim.”
Coulibaly was signed partly due to a shortage of full-backs at the time, with Pereira sidelined in January.
However, Ricardo’s return to fitness by March—and his intermittent involvement since—has further limited Coulibaly’s chances.
It remains uncertain whether van Nistelrooy will remain at the helm beyond the Premier League’s final weekend, raising questions about Coulibaly’s future under a potential new manager.
Before signing him, van Nistelrooy consulted Enzo Maresca, the former City boss who had previously brought Coulibaly to Parma during their Serie B campaign.
Prior to joining Leicester, Coulibaly featured in 12 of Parma’s 18 Serie A games as they fought to maintain their top-flight status after earning promotion.
His experience and versatility could become more valuable to City next season with a fresh start.
