The winger has caught the eye since returning from a stress fracture that ruled him out for nearly a year and impressed in Wednesday’s 2-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham in midweek.
Placheta, who is yet to make a start under Wagner, has made five appearances in the Championship, all of which have come from the bench.
His performances are pushing him in the right direction with City set to make changes to their starting line up on Saturday.
“He has improved from week to week after a good pre-season. When he has come on as a sub, he has made an impact and when he starts games he also makes an impact,” City’s head coach said.
“He is progressing very well. He is starting to get a lot more calm and mature in ball possession. He is much more structured in his game.
“Defensively, sometimes he misses the moment to come back into his position quick enough which isn’t related to his speed but more how quickly he analyses the situation – we will continue to work with him.
“We’re very happy with him. Like a few other guys, they will start in the next week where we have three games. Whether it will be tomorrow or not, we will see. We have injury problems but I’m very pleased with the squad that we have available. They are really competitive.”
Placheta has also featured as a left back within Wagner’s system and has made a positive contribution from a deeper position on the pitch.
The Pole’s pace is well documented by Wagner and his coaching team have worked to refine other areas of his game – including introducing him to that new defensive position.
“He can play both positions,” Wagner said. “The skills which he has are just great for both. He is so open-minded that he is fine with both positions. I think it is only beneficial for him to have a tactical awareness of both and what he has shown so far is good.
“Everyone has known about his physical qualities and we’ve worked hard with him to make this shine. His technique is good as well. He plays in more areas where he isn’t used to playing like in pockets and half spaces.
“He is progressing and hopefully it will continue. There is still massive space for him to improve.”
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