Leeds United and their Premier League rivals are circling around Leicester City's top talents this summer.
Marti Cifuentes is keen to reduce the size of his Leicester City squad and admits ‘some things may happen’ as Leeds United and others continue to be linked with his best players.
Leeds are among several Premier League sides to hold an interest in Bilal El Khannouss, with the YEP reporting earlier this month that enquiries had been made regarding the attacking midfielder. Reports elsewhere of a £24.5million release clause suggest suitors could avoid club-to-club negotiations if they desired, albeit only until next week when the clause expires.
Leicester City’s 2025/26 Championship campaign kicks off against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday and they still have one of the divisions most bloated squads, with plenty of movement expected between now and September 1. And Cifuentes has hinted a few more could follow Ndidi out the exit door.
“I cannot comment on Mads [to West Ham] but obviously there is interest around him,” the Foxes boss told Leicestershire Live on Friday. “Definitely there are conversations around some players. There is interest in some of them. That’s the reality of almost every club in the country.
“Some things may happen. My target is to make sure everybody who is here is 100 per cent committed and that everybody is training at a really high level. I’m a big believer in not having a very big squad. I’m aware the Championship is a league that is very demanding and we play a lot of games, but first of all I want to make sure we don’t have as big a squad as we have now.
Get all your Leeds United news for just £1!
Join Graham Smyth and the team as they bring you exclusive coverage from Leeds United’s pre-season, from transfer news to Premier League build-up. Don’t miss out on this limited time offer - subscribe today to be a part of the action.
“Then, we’ll be ready to bring players in if they will help us to be a better team. At the same time, I’m focused on helping players at academy level that are ready to help us. It’s going to be a balance in the next weeks.”
Leeds only appear interested in El Khannouss and while the exciting 21-year-old is expected to leave the King Power Stadium, competition from elsewhere could prove an issue. Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur are among the other Premier League clubs to be linked with the Moroccan and both can offer European football next season.
Graham Smyth update on Leeds United target Bilal El Khannouss
As a newly-promoted club, Leeds cannot even guarantee their top-flight status beyond the next 10 months and so it remains to be seen how they plan to proceed. Speaking during the return of the YEP’s Inside Elland Road podcast this week, chief football writer Graham Smyth provided an update on the situation.
Read More
“There has been a lot of talk and a lot of names - but not a lot of substance to what’s being said,” he said. “El Khannouss, Leeds made an enquiry, and I believe they had talks with his camp. The last time I checked in with his camp there was no update, there was no progression on that.
“Now, no-one is saying this but my feeling would be if there is a release clause for this player and Leeds haven’t activated it then you could deduce two things. One, they don’t value him as high as the release clause and would like to strike a deal, pay a little bit less, so that’s perhaps why they haven’t gone and done it.
“Or they aren’t so certain the player will come, that they can just go and do the release clause, make an official bid and try and get him in. There are other clubs on the scene and I think that is potentially making things a little more difficult on that one.”
Continue Reading