Fabrizio Romano shares Matias Soule transfer stance amid Leicester City interest
Leicester City are one of a number of clubs trying to convince Juventus winger Matias Soule to sign for them this summer.
New manager Steve Cooper has had his first proper look at his Leicester City squad following the club’s first pre-season friendly of the summer against Villarreal on Saturday.
The Foxes won that behind closed-doors clash 2-1 with goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi, but the game would have given Cooper a clearer idea of what is needed this summer.
After selling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea for £30 million to try and comply with Premier League spending rules, Leicester have seen four players arrive this summer.
Lat season’s loanee Abdul Fatwau has now made the move permanent, whilst Caleb Okoli, Micheal Golding and Bobby De Cordova-Reid have also joined.
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Now, Leicester have received an update on a player they are every keen on, with the player’s intentions revealed.
Matias Soule only wants one club amid Leicester City interest
Soule was impressive last season whilst on loan at Frosinone from Italian giants Juventus.
Despite his loan club’s relegation from Serie A, Soule scored 11 goals and provided three assists from his right-wing position.
A winger is one of the four positions Leicester are prioritising this summer, but they may have to move on to other targets as transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on what Soule wants this summer.
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Romano revealed on his Playback channel: “Matias Soule to Leicester, my friend – at the moment, still no change. Leicester offered big amount of money to Juventus, but the player wants to go to Roma.
“So at the moment, it’s still an open situation, with Roma really insisting. Soule wants to go to Rome. Soule wants to play for Roma. Soule wants to play for the club, for Daniele De Rossi.
“So let’s see if Roma can pay what Juventus want. That’s the point, that’s the story.”
Leicester could still sign Soule if Roma do not meet valuation
Whilst Soule is clearly very keen to stay in Italy and join Roma, the interest from elsewhere means Juventus will not sell him to De Rossi’s side unless their valuation is met.
Leicester have already seen a £21 million bid rejected for the 21-year-old winger and face competition from fellow Premier League clubs West Ham, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, as well as Roma, in the race to sign the Argentine.
It is unclear at this stage how much Juve would be willing to sell Soule for, but with £21 million not enough it will be a fairly substantial fee for Leicester to meet.
However, Soule is a real talent, with former Juventus youth team-mate Nicolo Turco explained to Tuttomercatoweb by saying: “Soule? Sometimes, in training, he did incredible things.
“He took the ball and went to score goals on his own. I expected a great start from Soule, but not so much. It was truly devastating, he’s doing monstrous things.”
Whilst signing Soule’s would represent the bulk of Leicester’s transfer budget he could just be the player to keep them in the Premier League this season.