Leicester plan to beat Liverpool, Tottenham to €50m Sociedad star

Iago Aspas, Diego Llorente

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has added Diego Llorente to his list of targets – and hopes to beat Tottenham and Liverpool to the Real Sociedad star’s signature.

The 26-year-old has earned a reputation as one of LaLiga’s best defenders, having joined La Real two summers ago in a €6m transfer from Real Madrid.

He was strongly linked with Liverpool over the summer, while Mundo Deportivo have also reported that Tottenham and West Ham have sent scouts to check on him in the recent months.

However, the Leicester Mercury, citing reports in the Spanish media, claims it is the Foxes who look most likely to move for Llorente and could be ready to test Sociedad’s resolve to keep him by placing a €25m bid for his services in January.

The player has a release clause of €50m in his contract, and while the club are not said to be under any financial pressure to sell, it’s believed an offer of that magnitude could convince them to sell.

It would appear central defenders are very much on Rodgers’ radar at the moment, that despite the magnificent form this season of Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu, and the Foxes were linked with Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer over the weekend.

 

Rodgers has Leicester upwardly mobile this season and the Foxes are well placed to push for a return to the Champions League, with the side currently third in the Premier League.

All the same, a deal to sign Llorente would represent something of a coup for the Foxes with the player having won four international caps for Spain.

Llorente isn’t the only big-name player Sociedad are struggling to keep, with our exclusive last month claiming Manchester City had identified Mikel Oyarzabal as a prime summer target to replace the Bayern Munich-linked Leroy Sane.