Stade Rennais defender Loic Bade is reportedly attracting interest from AFC Bournemouth, Brentford and Leicester City just one year after the defender snubbed signing for the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.
According to Foot Mercato, the Premier League trio make up of three of the four clubs interested in signing Bade, with Eintracht Frankfurt also keen on the Ligue 1 ‘titan’, who could leave Rennes just one year after signing for the French club from RC Lens.
The centre-back made just 21 appearances in all competitions last season despite Rennes paying €20m (£17m) to sign Bade, and with the likes of Bournemouth, Brentford and Leicester now interested in the 22-year-old, the French side could be tempted to cash in on their defensive prospect already.
Indeed, the decision to sell Bade will come as an unusual one for Rennes given that Arsenal and Liverpool were both reportedly interested in signing the former France youth international last summer, and now, 12 months on, a Premier League rival could now land the talented centre-back.
Out of the three English sides interested, Leicester arguably have the best case for signing Bade given that Wesley Fofana is on the verge of leaving the King Power for Chelsea in a deal worth a reported £70m, with Brendan Rodgers also yet to bring in a single new fresh face.
With money to spend, Leicester have little time to make mass signings the fans have been demanding all summer, yet as a replacement for a key player in Fofana, Bade could be an ideal player, much to the dismay of Arsenal and Liverpool, who could have landed the defender last year.
Leicester have to wrap up Bade signing quickly amid Premier League interest
With just over two days of the transfer window left to go, time is running out fast for Leicester to make any signings this summer, and with Fofana on the verge of joining Chelsea, replacing the French defender will be the Foxes’ biggest priority, and Bade could be perfect despite other interest from Premier League clubs.
After all, Bournemouth and Brentford could both make late moves to the one-time Arsenal and Liverpool target, and for Leicester, they can’t allow a quality target like Bade to slip through their fingers in the final stages of the transfer window.
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