Sam Hughes’ success at Leicester City is unlikely not to have gone unnoticed by manager Claude Puel.

The former Chester FC defender continues to thrive with the Premier League side and further added to his stock with a goal in a 6-1 rout of Tottenham Hotspur under-23s on Wednesday night.

That success made it 18 games unbeaten for Hughes and his U23 teammates in all competitions, leaving them second in Premier League 2 Divison One, two points behind leaders Liverpool.

And the victory also provided another personal milestone for Hughes, 20, a graduate of Chester’s youth academy who made the switch to Leicester for a fee in the region of £130,000 plus add ons.

Hughes’ goal took his tally to seven for the campaign to make him leading scorer for the Foxes’ U23s. Not bad going for a player who has been playing this season in defence and as a holding midfielder. It is midfield where Leicester see his future.

When asked by Leicester’s official website about his goal-scoring exploits, Hughes said: “I never thought I’d see the day!

“I don’t know what it is, I think things just fall to me. Someone must be up there trying to help me get on the scoresheet each week. That’s all I can do when I’m in the box from set pieces or corners and I have got to keeping getting on the end of things and putting them in the back of the net.”

Hughes, who returned to Chester as a special guest on Boxing Day to watch the 2-0 loss to Guiseley, was seen as a low-key acquisition for Leicester’s U23s in the summer.

Sam Hughes in action for Leicester City under-23s

But after shaking off an early injury he has gone on to make a real name for himself and raise plenty of eyebrows, becoming captain of the club’s development side.

But while some of teammates have yet to experience senior football at any level, Hughes’ time with Chester has aided him massively. He cuts the figure of a senior player, a player who has taken the lumps on the way up and done it the hard way.

Against Tottenham he skippered a Foxes side that included veteran Premier League winner Robert Huth.

Leicester’s first team are set to travel to Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup third round this weekend and it will be interesting to see whether Hughes gets a look in.

But if he continues to carry on the way he has started at Leicester then the sky could be the limit and recognition not far off.

That of course would benefit the Blues.

Chester have a number of add ons and clauses written in to the Hughes deal, including a favourable sell-on clause. And after his success helped the Blues get a financial boost in the summer, he could well aid them again in the not too distant future.