PERTH, Australia — Enzo Maresca’s exit from Leicester City to take up the Chelsea managerial role has led Harry Souttar to reassess his future at the club, and the Australia defender hopes that a new coach will eliminate his need to find minutes in a new team.
Souttar played just 189 minutes across all competitions as Leicester won promotion back to the Premier League last season, spending the latter half of the campaign frozen out of matchday squads by Maresca after failing to secure a move during the January window.
Leeds United had appeared set to land the 25-year-old in January, but with his focus on Australia’s then ongoing Asian Cup tilt, the deal fell through on deadline day. A mooted loan to MLS side LA Galaxy also didn’t eventuate.
But with Maresca’s and his backroom staff’s departure for London, Souttar is hopeful of a new beginning at Leicester, whom he joined for an Australian record £15 million ($19m) from Stoke after he starred at the 2022 World Cup despite only recently returning from an ACL injury.
“It’d be very clear if [Enzo Maresca] was still there, my situation; to try and leave the club and get more minutes because I’ve lost out on a lot of football,” Souttar told ESPN.
“To still be selected for the national team I know I need to be playing football.
“I just have to wait to see what the club does and who comes in and then to try to impress the new manager that comes in. When I get back for pre-season, we’ll probably have a sit down after a few weeks and have a chat and see where we’re at.
“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’s going to be.
“But I’ve just got to give myself the best shot of trying to impress him and the staff that will come in as well. We’ll just go from there.”
Australia boss Graham Arnold has consistently selected Souttar for national team duty despite his dearth of minutes at clubland but has repeatedly flagged in recent months that he had to “sort out his club career” to continue being selected.
However, the coach did acknowledge ahead of his side’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Bangladesh last Thursday — in which Souttar played his 15th consecutive full game in green and gold — that Maresca’s exit added a new dimension to the situation.
Reports have linked the likes of Carlos Corberan, Steve Cooper, Graham Potter, and Ole Gunnar Solskjær to the vacant managerial position at Leicester.
“I know that I’m not playing club football and normally that coincides with not playing for your national team,” Souttar said.
“I’ve got to thank [Arnold] a lot for the faith that he’s put in me; playing me when I’ve not had match minutes.
“I always have thought that all I do is my very best when I put that jersey on for the nation — and for [Arnold] as well because I know how much faith he’s put 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 need to play football.”
Souttar and the Socceroos are in Western Australia for a World Cup qualifier against Palestine on Tuesday, where he is expected to be rotated out of the starting XI for two hometown boys in 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 established in the memory of Perth local and one-time West Ham prospect Dylan Tombides.
An Australian under 23 representative, Tombides died of testicular cancer at the age of 20 in 2014 — a cancer type most commonly found among males aged 20 to 44 years.
“Just check and check again [for signs of testicular cancer] and get opinions,” Souttar said.
