Torino are willing to sell Brazilian centre-back Lyanco to Leicester City but, according to Tuttosport, the Premier League outfit would prefer to sign his Serie A teammate Nicolas Nkoulou instead.
With Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes expected to announce Belgium international Timothy Castagne as Ben Chilwell’s replacement at the King Power Stadium, attention will soon turn to reinforcing the centre of defence too.
Wes Morgan is now 36 and Filip Benkovic remains out of favour, meaning Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu are the only real centre-half options at Rodgers’ disposal.
And that is not exactly ideal, given that Leicester are preparing for a gruelling Europa League campaign which looks set to stretch their squad to its limit.
With that in mind, 30-year-old Nkoulou feels every inch an experienced, short-term solution for a side who want to add some quantity to the quality at their disposal.
Nkoulou, a 75-time Cameroon international who has also represented Monaco, Marseille and Lyon, is due to become a free agent in 2021.
But if Leicester were hoping that Torino would be happy to cash in before the transfer window slams shut in October, they are very much mistaken.
“He is really important element, he has leadership. I hope he can stay for a long time,” says Torino’s sporting director Davide Vagnati.
Interestingly, Tuttosport adds that Torino are hoping to tempt Leicester away from Nkoulou by offering them the chance to sign Lyanco instead.
Lyanco spent last season on loan at Bologna and, according to O Jogo, is available for £9 million.
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