New Leicester star Ahmed Musa reckons fast and furious Foxes will speed towards glory as he looks to race Jamie Vardy
Claudio Ranieri paid a club-record fee to sign striker as Premier League champs look to prove doubters wrong
AHMED MUSA wants to test his pace against Jamie Vardy after promising Leicester will boast the quickest forward line this season.
The champs’ new Nigerian striker demonstrated his astonishing speed with a two-goal burst in Wednesday’s 4-2 defeat by Barcelona.
And the smiling assassin believes he can give anyone in England a run for their money following his club-record £16million move from CSKA Moscow.
Musa, 23, made an instant impact against Spanish champions Barca in Stockholm, racing through to score within two minutes of replacing England star Vardy at half-time.
And he said: “I showed everyone what I am capable of. I think I impressed the supporters very much and I am going to do a lot more of what I do best.
“I don’t feel under any pressure because I am already settled into the squad and I’m very happy to be coming to the Premier League.”
Musa, who made his debut for Nigeria aged just 17 and scored twice against Argentina at the last World Cup, is eager to prove he is the perfect man to lead Leicester’s counter-attacking game.
With Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Demarai Gray and Jeffrey Schlupp also competing for a place in Claudio Ranieri’s forward line, they will not be short of pace.
Musa said: “I haven’t tried racing against Jamie Vardy yet, but maybe we can do it in training soon.
“I’ve already found that the squad at Leicester is like a family and with that spirit, we are confident we can continue to achieve big things this season.
“I really like the coach. He is a very good manager who encourages all the players and is always positive.”
The coach also had good things to say about him. Ranieri said: “We paid a lot of money because we believe in him.
“What he showed was pace, quality, scoring goals. He’s is an international player and his performance was good. Everyone saw that. Now he has to understand the Premier League.”
Leicester have spent just shy of £40m this summer to sign Musa, Nampalys Mendy, Bartosz Kapustka, Ron-Robert Zieler and Luis Hernandez — and all five featured in the second-half fightback in Stockholm.
So it is hardly surprising Wes Morgan believes last season’s Premier League triumph will not be a flash in the pan.
The Foxes’ skipper said: “It’s definitely going to be a lot tougher this season but we’ve got a few new players and there’s no reason at all why we shouldn’t continue to do well.
“No one thought we could win the league last time. Why shouldn’t we do it this time as well?
“It’s been a difficult pre-season but it has definitely been worthwhile. There’s been a lot of travelling but PSG and Barcelona are the calibre of teams we’ll be facing in the Champions League so we have to learn quickly.
“We still have work to do but we’re pretty pleased with how things have gone so far and we’re now at the point where we need to be season-ready.
“We have our first competitive game on Sunday against Manchester United in the Community Shield and playing at Wembley is a fantastic way to complete our preparations.”