Leicester reject Ulloa bid from Sunderland

Leo Ulloa: Wants to move on

Leicester have rejected an offer from Sunderland for wantaway striker Leonardo Ulloa, Press Association Sport understands.

The bid from the Black Cats is thought to be around £7million but Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri insists he does not want to sell the 30-year-old Argentinian.

Ulloa, who this month handed in a transfer request, has also been the subject of a loan enquiry from Turkish club Galatasaray while Spanish side Alaves had a £1.7million bid turned down earlier in the transfer window.

Ranieri said: “I know he is very, very anxious but we don’t change our mind.

“For us it’s important. We don’t want to sell him. Also I don’t want to because I have just (Islam) Slimani as a target man and I need another target man.

“I want Leo here and I hope he can be calm and understand my position. Of course he’s not happy and I understand him.

“The club know my idea very well and also Leo knows very well my idea. He is a fantastic player, a fantastic man and I believe in him.”

Leicester resume Premier League action away at Burnley on Tuesday night.

The champions have yet to win on the road during the defence of their title while Burnley have been strong at Turf Moor, winning 25 of their 26 points at home.

Ranieri knows it will be another tough examination of his team, saying: “We try to win tomorrow against a very big team at home. They have 26 points and 25 have come at home.

“They lost just the first match against Swansea, and then Manchester City and Arsenal. They have won eight games and one draw. That makes it a very tough match but we are ready.

“We know what to expect and I think we have to be very smart and strong. We know the crowd push them a lot and we must be calm and play our match.

“It is a big match but all the matches we have are key matches because we want to reach 40 points. That is a goal and we want to reach that as soon as possible.”