Leicester City transfer call could leave Russell Martin needing three defenders

Leicester City defender Caleb Okoli is attracting interest from two Italian sides in the final week of the summer transfer window, according to reports.

Okoli had been expected to leave the Foxes this summer after suffering back-to-back relegations with the club. The centre-back joined City in 2024 from Atalanta for around £13m following their promotion to the Premier League.

The Italian has started the first three games of the new season under Russell Martin, but has come under scrutiny for his displays against Notts County and Burton Albion.

Leicester are light at centre-back with Ben Nelson out with an ACL injury and Wout Faes expected to leave the club. Ilari Kangasniemi is close to strengthening the backline, LeicestershireLive understands, but Harry Souttar has been strongly linked with a move to Sheffield United.

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To get it, it's a simple one-two punch.

Now, reports in Italy have opened the door to a return to Serie A for Okoli. Journalist Nicolo Schira has reported that Cagliari, who signed Harry Winks from City this summer, have shown interest with another unnamed Italian club.

It’s reported that City would only sanction a permanent transfer for Okoli, whereas Cagliari’s proposal was only for a loan, with an option to buy. Monza, Torino and Fiorentina have all been linked with the 25-year-old this summer. The window in Italy closes on the same day as England on September 1.

Josh Holland's verdict: The window has just over a week or so remaining and it means clubs are rushing to get their business done before it's too late. Leicester are one of them, but potential outgoings will add to the to-do list for the recruitment team.

Okoli should have been one of the players out of the door early in the window when Fiorentina, Torino and Monza were showing interest. He was OK in pre-season, but his performances against Notts County and Burton have left a lot to be desired, even for this level.

But there is a problem. If they allow Okoli to follow Wout Faes out of the door, with the possibility of Harry Souttar also departing, it would leave Martin lighter at centre-back than he is now. Kangasniemi will help when he arrives from FC Inter Turku, but he's only 19.

If Leicester bring in another centre-back to follow Kangasniemi, there's more acceptance to allow Okoli to leave. They can't, though, leave themselves too short for when the window shuts.

It's a new problem in itself. Selling Okoli could leave Leicester scrambling to sign two, not including Kangasniemi.