Leicester chiefs plan to hold onto star players as Premier League deadline day approaches

Posted Thursday, August 24, 2017 by Express.co.uk

Leicester chiefs plan to hold onto star players as Premier League deadline day approaches
Leicester owners do not want to sell their star players this summer

LEICESTER’S mega-rich owners have held Far East summit talks to head off a deadline-day disaster.

Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and son Aiyawatt will head off any attempts to ransack the club of its star players.

Title-winning stars Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater and Jamie Vardy are all on the radar of the big boys while Demarai Gray is also a £25m target of Bournemouth.

Boss Craig Shakespeare is likely to be given reassurances from the very top this weekend that he will not see his side wrecked by a flurry of late outward deals, with the transfer window closing at 11pm a week today.

Chelsea are weighing up a move for Vardy but no bid has yet been received, while Stamford Bridge boss Antonio Conte is also keen on midfielder Danny Drinkwater.

Mahrez is the only one to declare he wants to leave the Foxes and backed it up with a written transfer request. But Leicester have rejected three bids from Italian side Roma and won’t budge unless their valuation of nearer £50m is met.

Leicester’s owners don’t have to sell and with all the players on improved long-term deals, won’t be held to ransom.

Sources close to the club say that if they were persuaded to do business on one of their star men, the rest would stay put.

Vichai, the club’s owner and chairman has a personal wealth estimated at £2bn and is adamant he is only interested in strengthening the side, not weakening it.