Boubakary Soumare is prioritising a move to Leicester City despite interest in the £23 million Ligue 1 champion from Premier League rivals Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Just four weeks ago, an exciting Les Dogues side finally sealed its first domestic title since a fresh-faced Eden Hazard was hot-stepping his way to Stamford Bridge, holding off Paris Saint-Germain as the sweet smell of champagne filled the Stade Pierre Mauroy air.
Just one month later, however, it’s safe to say PSG expect to reclaim their place at the summit of French football in 2022.
That’s because Lille look set to suffer the same fate that befell a Monaco side containing the mercurial talents of Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, Fabinho and co a couple of seasons ago.
Talismanic manager Christophe Galtier wants a fresh start, goalkeeper Mike Maignan has been unveiled by AC Milan, while Zeki Celik, Jonathan Bamba and Renato Sanches are also in high demand.
Soumare, meanwhile, is expected to be a Leicester City player by the time pre-season training gets under way in July.
Why is Soumare turning down Everton and Wolves?
The Mail claims the Foxes are confident of tying up a £23 million deal for a France U21 international often compared to Paul Pogba because of his swaggering stride and supreme technical ability.
The report adds Soumare was also a target for Everton and a Wolves side that appears to have made a dominant, deep-lying central midfield player its top summer target.
Leicester were always Soumare’s first choice, however.
Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that, under Brendan Rodgers, the Foxes have a remarkable track record when it comes to turning talented youngsters into elite-level stars, from James Maddison to Caglar Soyuncu and Youri Tielemans to Harvey Barnes.
It remains to be seen what sort of role Soumare will play at the King Power.
Interestingly, the one-time PSG youngster is at his most effective in the number six role Wilfred Ndidi has made his own.
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