BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
WARRIORS forward Admiral Muskwe has been presented with a massive opportunity to take his career to the next level after joining English Championship side Wycombe Wanderers on loan until the end of the 2020/21 season.
He is joining from Leicester City’s development squad.
The 22-year-old forward has been pushing hard for a place in the Premier League side’s first team squad after scoring six goals in eight games for the former Premiership champions’ Under-23 side this season.
Muskwe, however, faced an uphill battle to earn promotion into the first team which has the likes of Jamie Vardy, Ayoze Pérez, Kelechi Iheanacho and Islam Slimani.
The loan move to Wycombe Wanderers, who are battling for survival in the English Championship, is a big opportunity for Muskwe to continue his development before challenging for a first team spot at Leicester in the future.
The young Zimbabwean spent the second half of the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Swindon Town, where he helped the Robins gain promotion to the third tier, making five appearances in total.
He will now continue his development with Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe side, who are next in action in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday when they play host to Preston North End.
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“Admiral has all the attributes to be a success in our side and help us score more goals in our survival efforts this season,” Wycombe boss Ainsworth told the club’s website.
“He’s quick, good with his feet, strong physically and has a great goalscoring record, all of which means we believe he can fit well into the way we play and develop his game by benefiting from playing Championship football.
“We have a good relationship with Leicester City and I’d like to thank them for allowing us to bring Admiral here.
Muskwe’s loan move comes after Leicester Academy coach Steve Beaglehole recently tipped the Zimbabwean striker for a successful career at the top level after managing to overcome injury problems to rediscover his scoring form.
Muskwe joined Leicester City’s academy at the age of nine and has represented the Foxes at Under-18s and Under-23s levels.
He was named Leicester City’s Academy Player of the Season for the 2015-16 season, the same year the club won their historic English Premier League title and he is touted as Vardy’s heir apparent at the East Midlands club.
Injuries had, however, dented his hopes of making a break into the first team, but his recent return to form has convinced Leicester City’s Senior Professional Development Phase coach Beaglehole that the gifted striker is destined for a successful career.
“People forget how much game time he has missed in the last two or three years, but also training time because he had two bad contact injuries,” the City coach said in an interview on the Premier League club’s official website.
“He has come back from both of those (injuries), where a lot of players’ confidence would have been severely hit, but he has come back in and you can’t expect a player to start performing straight away.
“I always felt that he would score goals, he’s a great runner with the ball, he had a great partnership with George Hirst last year and he scored more goals in open play.
“He’s a goalscorer and when he’s confident and fully fit, he will score goals and at the moment, that’s what is happening. His attitude has always been tremendous, he loves to score goals, but he’s a team player and he will always pick the right option and play people in, to help out the team.
“That’s what I like about him and I am delighted for him because he’s a great lad and one I think will play at a high level. Hopefully, he has a run of games now and then we will see his true potential.”
Muskwe represented England at Under-17 level before switching allegiance to his country of birth at senior level.
He has since earned four caps with the Warriors since making his senior international debut in a 1-0 defeat to Lesotho in a friendly match four years ago.
