Musa much better, confident - Ranieri

Leicester City's manager, Claudio Ranieri has warned defenders in Europe that his Nigerian import, Ahmed Musa is much better than he was two months ago, stressing that:”Now he is more confident and for me much better.”

Basking in the euphoria of watching Musa score two goals that guaranteed Leicester a passage into the fourth round of England’s most prestigious football competitions, the FA Cup, Ranieri said: “He was used to playing in Russia. In Russia he scored a lot of goals because he was quicker than the other defenders. Here everyone is quick and strong. Now he is more confident and for me much better.

“It is important for Musa because I saw him in the last month and he is much better. Maybe he understands better the Premier League, the fight, and everything. He was a very good threat to Everton,” Ranieri told Leicester Mercury.

“It was similar to Jamie Vardy. Everybody was calmer when he attacked the space. It was good. Every league is different. In Italy, it is more tactical and the players must work so hard with the movement. Here you have to understand the spirit of the competition. Every ball is the last ball."

Ranieri’s new swansong is coming on the heels of protests by Leicester’s fans after Everton beat them at home at the King Power Stadium urging him to field Musa in their matches or allow the Nigerian return to Russia, where he shone like a million stars, culminating into his move to England this season.

This will not be the first time that Musa has scored goals for Leicester with Ranieri dropping him in preference for Vardy, whose goal-scoring instinct has not been as sharp as it was last season.

It remains to be seen if Ranieri will give Musa the return of matches that he he gives to Vardy. This is what Leicester’s fans are asking the Italian tactician to do since they know Musa’s potential, having watched him play for CSKA Moscow, where he scored goals with aplomb.