Leicester City are pushing to sign Juventus winger Matias Soule but TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal Roma are leading the race by a significant margin.
Sources have informed our transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti that Roma are very confident of winning the head-to-head battle with the Foxes.
TEAMtalk can reveal that Soule’s agent is pushing for the winger to join Roma as they are offering him a higher commission for the deal, with talks now at the final stages with the Giallorossi.
The 21-year-old is considered a very exciting prospect and scored 11 goals in 39 games while on loan with Frosinone last season.
Leicester have made a substantial opening bid of £21m for Soule and sent their representatives to negotiate directly with Juventus in Turin.
However, we understand that Soule’s preference is to remain in Italy and that, coupled with his agent’s desire for him to join Roma, gives the Italian club a clear advantage over Leicester.
Soule has already reached an agreement on personal terms with Roma and now, the only thing missing is for them to agree a fee with Juventus.
TEAMtalk can confirm that the Bianconeri’s director, Cristiano Giuntoli, has set the youngster’s price tag at €30m (£25.2m).
Roma’s ‘strategy,’ per sources, is to offer this figure but with bonuses included.
Juventus to use Soule funds to sign Liverpool target
Juventus are holding firm on their stance that they want Roma to pay £25.2m up front for Soule, without add-ons, so there is still a glimmer of hope for Leicester.
But as time goes on the more likely it becomes that Juventus will have to accept Roma’s structured offer as they need to generate cash from player sales as soon as possible.
The Bianconeri are keen to reinvest the funds from Soule’s sale on their own signings, with Thiago Motta’s number one target being Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners.
Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move for the Dutch international but Juventus have always been the big favourites to sign him this summer.
Atalanta are holding out for €60m for Koopmeiners, a figure that will be partly “financed” by the sale of Soule.
Barring any major twists, Leicester are set to miss out on the Argentinian winger and he will become a new Roma player in the next few days.
Steve Cooper will now have to look elsewhere for a new winger and the new Leicester boss is keen to get transfer business done as soon as possible.
“We’re really hungry to get to work at Seagrave and continue to build,” Cooper said after City’s training camp in France concluded at the weekend.
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