The agent of a Leicester City summer transfer has revealed that his client rejected multiple offers to make the move to England.
Leicester were active in the market, signing nine players in total as they look to secure Premier League survival.
Steve Cooper faced plenty of competition to bring in the players he wanted this summer and one of those players chose the Foxes over several other options.
Leicester City star only wanted Leicester City transfer
One of those players in hot demand this summer was defender Caleb Okoli.
Cooper moved quickly to sign Okoli this summer, who moved to the King Power Stadium in a deal reportedly worth £15m from Atalanta.
Okoli had impressed on loan at Frosinone last season but has had to bide his time to force his way into the starting line-up at Leicester.
He made his debut in a 4-0 Carabao Cup win against Tranmere and has been in the first XI since then, dislodging last season’s mainstay Jannik Vestergaard.
Although it’s early days, the 23-year-old appears to be forming a partnership with Wout Faes and his agent Alessandro Barison revealed that the defender could’ve gone elsewhere this summer, however, once Leicester came calling, it was an easy decision.
He told SportItalia: “Someone from the Bundesliga, then French teams and even some Italian ones. But when Leicester came along he said to me: ‘It’s my moment’.
“He wanted the Premier League, which has always been his dream, even if he was happy to see that he also had a chance for Italy or Germany.”
Caleb Okoli’s agent explains why Leicester City transfer was perfect decision
So far, Okoli has only tasted victory once in a Leicester shirt, but his performances aren’t going unnoticed.
Earlier this month (September 2024), Okoli was called up to Italy’s senior squad for the first time for their Nations League fixtures.
Sadly for Okoli he was an unused substitute in both games, but Barison believes the demands of the Premier League will only make the 23-year-old a better player in the future.
“The Premier League is a good testing ground where he can accumulate knowledge and where he can only improve,” he explained.
“There are many players of a certain calibre, technically skilled and fast. He will have to be ready and be increasingly on the ball to know where the ball and the players are going.
“It is a faster football, also in terms of ball circulation and the defenders have to anticipate the play. He had to face many good attackers. He always studies them the days before facing them.”
Leave a Reply