Jonny Evans' new deal at Leicester is smart, necessary business

Football's a funny old game. If your club announces the signing of a young, South American defender who you've never heard of, chances are you won't be ready to hang the bunting out.

However, once you hear the youngster has cost a princely fee and you've heard from a teenager on Twitter that he's the best defender to come out of Brazil since Cafu, suddenly you're dreaming of a title charge - despite having never seen him play.

Perspective is rarely offered in our beautiful game these days, and there's a lot to be said for a solid, reliable centre-back who has a winning mentality and knows the league, and for that reason, Leicester fans should be overjoyed with the news their club shared via their official website that Jonny Evans has extended his stay at the club until 2023.

Since Brendan Rodgers arrived a the King Power Stadium in February 2019, the former Liverpool boss - along with the club's superb scouting department - has worked wonders in developing Leicester into a side who can compete at the upper end of the Premier League.

Big-money signings such as Youri Tielemans, Wesley Fofana and Timothy Castagne have been brought in to bolster an already stellar squad of players, while talented youngsters such as James Justin have proved themselves to already be able to mix it in England's top league, and will only get better and better.

In truth, Rodgers hasn't done a lot wrong in the transfer market since arriving at Leicester, though the one area which the club have struggled is at centre-back.

Towards the back end of the 2019/20 campaign, Caglar Soyuncu's dismissal at Bournemouth undoubtedly impacted the club's bid for Champions League football, with 36-year-old Wes Morgan and Wolves loanee Ryan Bennett drafted in to plug the gap - a task they clearly weren't up to.

The current campaign hasn't been much better for Soyuncu, having been ruled out for over two months with an abductor tear, while the aforementioned Fofana is now also sidelined with a knock to his knee.

With Daniel Amartey even drafted in at centre-back, in truth the Leicester backline is a bit of a shambles as it stands. And yet, throughout all this turmoil and uncertainty, one man has been there to steady the ship.

Evans is one of the most underrated centre-backs in recent Premier League history, and has at times been courted by some of the league's so called 'big six'.

He started every single league game for the Foxes last season - completing the full 90 minutes in all but two of them - as they achieved their best ever Premier League finish aside from when they were crowned champions in 2015/16.

The 32-year-old has adapted seamlessly to whoever he's been asked to play alongside this season, whether it be his usual centre-back partner in Soyuncu, a rookie such as Fofana, or a player who is usually deployed in midfield like Amartey.

While extending the contract of a player who'll be 35 by the time the deal expires may not sound like a particularly exciting prospect, Rodgers is under no illusion as to just what a huge player Evans is to Leicester, previously describing the Northern Irishman as 'the deal of the century' when he signed for the club in 2018.

Yes it's exciting when your club starts bringing in fresh new talent - a feeling Leicester fans will be all too familiar with - but every football team needs balance, and in Evans, the Foxes have a top class defender who has shown time and time again that he can still cut it at the top level.

Evans is a massive part of the Leicester project and Rodgers can already be delighted with the business he's done.