Need the latest Foxes transfer news? Get FREE email alerts for Leicester City FC Sign up! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Leicester City's football philosophy is changing under Brendan Rodgers.

It comes as no surprise and as a welcome change after the frustrations of Claude Puel's reign at the King Power Stadium, but City are set for a new footballing identity under their current boss.

We saw glimpses of it at the back-end of last season as Brendan Rodgers began to get his claws into his new squad, but this summer, we're already seeing a shift.

The Foxes have played three pre-season friendlies to-date, taking on Scunthorpe, Cheltenham and Cambridge, winning all three.

We expected as much. While winning in pre-season provides reassurance that preparations are gong well, it means little, especially when you're a top-half Premier League team taking on League Two opposition.

But these games are more about what Brendan Rodgers can learn from his squad, and equally, what we can learn.

And what's stood out above all, above the debutants, the goals and even Harry Maguire's presence, is the shift in philosophy.

It's something we all saw coming with the arrival of Brendan Rodgers, who by now has carved out a reputation for playing 'proper football', if you like.

The Northern Irishman likes to win, sure, but in a certain way.

Long balls or counter attacks just aren't his style and sure enough, neither are City's either, not anymore.

There's now a huge emphasis on keeping the ball, with every player being totally comfortable in posession. City's average possession across the three friendlies has been a staggering 72.9%.

The amount of long balls across the pitch have reduced in pre-season. There's still a place for them, but at the right moments.

In each of the three games there have been moments where the long ball wide to a winger or full-back seems the obvious option, but City's centre midfielders, as if they have been drilled this way, have kept the ball on the floor.

It's about working an opening but doing so with patience, shifting the ball from one side to the other, but with a number of quick passes, rather than a ball over the top.

City are aiming to turn the screw on their opponents by completely dominating possession, moving the ball in a way that wears the other team down with the help of constant movement, of wingers switching sides several times per half.

The movement is relentless and it involves everyone but the goalkeeper, centre halves and the holding midfielder.

The wingers switch sides and come narrow, the full-backs get wide the moment the wide men tuck in, the two midfielders behind the striker often join the front line, or drop off to create space.

It's a high-energy system and it's asking a lot from the City stars, particularly in defending situations.

This 4-1-4-1 system with two advance midfielders comes with its risks.

When City attack, they almost have a front five, but when they're caught, if one of those attacking midfielders can't get back in time, the Foxes are exposed.

We've seen instances of it in these friendlies, and Brendan Rodgers will know that while this system gives you so much going forward, it puts you at risk at the other end.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City via Getty Images)

That's how he operates, though. Rodgers' Liverpool side that finished second in 2013/14, though playing a different formation, scored more than 100 goals, but conceded 50, that was more than all-but one of the top eight teams that season.

But in theory, if you're good enough in possession and clinical enough at the top end of the pitch, you get to be a force going forward without being at risk at the other end.

And that's what Rodgers will be banking on, it's why he's going to have two ultra-creative players in James Maddison and Youri Tielemans both in the team. In this system, City will need a constant supply of chances for Jamie Vardy up top, and they need to be good chances, too.

It's a system that might take some time to perfect, particularly defensively and particularly if the Foxes lose Harry Maguire and don't sufficiently replace him.

It's also a system that might take time for the Blue Army to adjust to given the success the club has had playing counter attacking football.

But it's one they're already welcoming with fans being encouraged by their team's comfort on the ball and how City have dominated possession in their pre-season friendlies so far.

(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City via Getty Images)

Rodgers, who has already won over the majority of supporters, will get a chance to prove his philosophy is indeed the way forward for Leicester City.

But whether the style of play is pretty or not, with the ambitions the Foxes have this year, they can ill-afford to slip behind early in the season.

And that's why, as ever, results will offer the final verdict on whether this style is a good fit for this club.