Leicester City were left empty handed from their pursuit of Matias Soule this summer with the winger ultimately deciding to sign for AS Roma.
Steve Cooper has had his work cut out since taking over at Leicester City, with the sale of star man Kiernan Deswbury-Hall an early blow to his tenure.
The £30 million generated from Dewsbury-Hall’s sale has allowed the club to welcome five new arrivals this summer, though, with Oliver Skipp expected to soon be the sixth in a £20 million deal.
It is no secret that a winger has been high on the list of priorities for Cooper since arriving and that saw the club bid to sign then-Juventus winger Matias Soule before he eventually agreed a move to AS Roma last month.
Leicester were firmly in the race until the last minute and the reason a move did not materialise has now been revealed.
- READ MORE: Steve Cooper makes transfer admission that will frustrate every single Leicester City fan
Matias Soule agent behind choosing Roma over Leicester City
Soule spent last season on loan from Juve at Frosinone where he impressed despite the club’s relegation from Serie A.
Having scored 11 goals and provided three assists in his first senior season as a regular, 21-year-old Soule piqued the interest of a number of clubs in England and Italy.
The Telegraph have now revealed that Leicester did all they could to sign the Argentinian winger.
According to The Telegraph’s report, Soule ‘was identified as a priority target by Cooper and the recruitment team’.
The report goes on to claim that ‘Cooper spoke extensively with Soule about moving to England and, after a second improved bid of around £22 million, there was optimism that a deal could be struck’.
However, it was not to be with Soule’s agents’ ‘close links with Roma’ swinging the deal in the direction of the Italian capital.
Failure to sign Soule tells tale of frustrating Leicester City summer
Cooper could not have done much more to convince Soule to make the switch to the Foxes this summer.
It has become a familiar tale, with striker Adam Hlozek looking set to arrive last week before deciding instead to secure a move to Hoffenheim at the last minute.
Leicester’s loan move for Wilfried Zaha looks in real danger of collapse too, with the tax the player would have to pay upon a return to England seeing the move hit a snag.
Skipp’s arrival looks imminent, but the £20 million deal has raised a few eyebrows given it is such a big fee for a position Leicester arguably do not need to add depth to.
A striker is essential if Leicester are to have any hopes of surviving in the Premier League this season, especially given Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka are both sidelined through injury.
- READ MORE: Key Leicester City trio sidelined ahead of 24/25 with striker ruled out ‘for a few months’
If Leicester fail to secure attacking arrivals they may well look back at a number of failed moves this summer and rue their inability to get the deals across the line.