The forward was left out of the team entirely as the Foxes got back to winning ways at the Stadium of Light.
A 1-0 victory maintained the side’s position in the lead of the Championship table, with a 13 minute strike from Jamie Vardy sealing all three points.
Maresca’s side had lost their last three league games in a row going into Tuesday night’s clash against the Black Cats.
Cannon featured as a substitute in all three defeats, but wasn’t even on the bench for the midweek victory.
Maresca’s worrying Tom Cannon message
Maresca confirmed that Cannon’s absence was not due to an injury, but rather that he had been dropped from the matchday squad for rotation.
The Italian clarified why the 21-year-old was not included, pointing to the team’s strength in depth in that area of the squad.
“We have four strikers, one of them has to be out,” said Maresca, via Owynn Palmer-Atkin on Twitter.
Cannon signed for Leicester last summer in a deal worth a reported £7.5 million, but struggled with fitness issues in his first few months with the club.
Since returning to full fitness in December, he has featured 11 times in the Championship, having made his debut in September.
He has contributed two goals and one assist in those 11 appearances, three of which have been starts (all stats from Fbref).
Leicester City’s striker options
| Leicester City’s striker options – 2023/24 | stats per Fbref.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Player Name | League Appearances (starts) | League Goals |
| Jamie Vardy | 25 (11) | 11 |
| Tom Cannon | 12 (3) | 2 |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | 20 (10) | 5 |
| Patson Daka | 13 (12) | 7 |
Leicester also have Vardy, Patson Daka and Kelechi Iheanacho to choose from for their sole striker role in the team.
Vardy has featured the most frequently of the quartet, with the minutes being shared relatively evenly.
Iheanacho has made 20 appearances, including 10 starts, with Daka playing 13 times.
The Foxes’ top scorer is Vardy, who added to his tally on Tuesday night to go up to 11 goals in the Championship so far this season.
Leicester City league position
Leicester maintained their position at the top of the Championship table on Tuesday night.
Wins from Ipswich Town and Leeds United meant the pressure is still being applied on their first place position.
The gap to the Tractor Boys in second is just three points with 10 games still to go this season.
Leeds are a further two points behind, with the fight for the two automatic promotion places likely to go down to the wire.
Next up for Maresca’s team is a trip to face sixth place Hull City on 9 March.
Cannon should be looking to assert himself as the man of growing importance to this Leicester side.
He was signed for £7.5 million in the summer, and Vardy, Daka and Iheanacho are all on borrowed time at the club in one way or another.
Cannon showed a lot of promise on loan with Preston North End last year, and he now needs to step up and show he can compete at the top end of the Championship.
Losing his place in the squad is not a good sign of Maresca’s fath in his ability, and should be a wake up call that his performances need to improve.
