DEAL 85%: Leicester City reach verbal agreement after series of talks with Arsenal to sign speed winger in 24hrs

Loan deal with obligation to buy, in talks over financial terms with Arsenal.

Leicester, confident they can persuade Nelson if the clubs come to terms as he previously worked with Steve Cooper.

Leicester City have already signed one young winger in the form of Abdul Fatawu after his move from Sporting Lisbon was confirmed earlier in the month – and they could now bolster their wing options even further, with reports suggesting that they have made a move for Arsenal star Reiss Nelson.

Nelson came through Arsenal’s academy after joining at the age of just eight years old, and he was given his Premier League debut in Arsene Wenger’s last-ever season as Gunners boss with a spate of appearances including a start against Southampton as an 18-year-old. However, chances have been limited in that time, with just 49 appearances in the Premier League overall for the club and 89 in all competitions. And at the age of 24, first-team development is crucial for the winger – with a report on Wednesday claiming that the winger could be set to move to Leicester.

Leicester ‘Open Talks’ With Arsenal For Nelson

The winger hasn’t been afforded first-team opportunities

The report by Fabrizio Romano on X (formerly Twitter) suggests that Leicester have opened talks with Arsenal in a bid to land Nelson on a permanent deal.

The Foxes have proposed a loan deal initially, but with an obligation to buy Nelson at the end of next season, and they are in talks over the financial terms of the offer with the Gunners as they aim to land the winger permanently with his long-term contract hypothetically starting next summer.

Leicester boss Steve Cooper has previously worked with Nelson in his time as an England youth coach, and he will know first-hand what the youngster can do after rarely being afforded opportunities at the Emirates Stadium throughout the Mikel Arteta reign. Thanks to the talents of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, despite the Spaniard touting him as ‘special’, Nelson has been starved of first-team starts with 27 appearances over three seasons at the Emirates and just three goals to boot.

As a result, the East Midlands outfit are confident that they can persuade Nelson to join them if a fee can be agreed with Arsenal, with regular Premier League football and first-team minutes on the agenda for the winger if he signs on the dotted line.

Leicester Still Have a Minimal Net Spend

The Foxes have seen four major incomings and outgoings each

Fatawu has already sworn into the King Power Stadium after his loan-to-buy deal from Sporting last season cost the Foxes £14million to make permanent. Elsewhere, Chelsea youngster Michael Golding and Udinese star Caleb Okoli have also joined for a combined £16.8million, and Fulham forward Bobby Decordova-Reid has joined on a free after his contract in west London expired.

GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Nelson enjoyed two loan spells away from Arsenal at Hoffenheim and Feyenoord respectively – nabbing 11 goals in 61 games combined.

Those deals were needed with four first-team players leaving. Marc Albrighton, Kelechi Iheanacho and Dennis Praet have all departed on free transfers thanks to their contracts running out, and star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has also departing in a £30million deal to Chelsea.

It’s clear that the Foxes will need to strengthen if they are to survive in the top-flight, but having had a net spent of just under £1million so far, there is a lot of cash available for them to spend. alongside the high contracts of the three released stars – and by opting for a loan-to-buy deal for Nelson, that will spare immediate funds to strengthen their first-team in the near future.