According to a report in the paper edition of Corriere del Mezzogiorno via Leicestershire Live, Leicester City have made an offer towards Napoli forward Adam Ounas to increase his wages, trying to jump ahead of other clubs in the race for his signature.
The promising Algerian international, who started 14 Ligue 1 games on loan at Nice last season, has found consistent game-time hard to come by throughout his Napoli career, but a number of Premier League clubs are reportedly trying to offer him an exit from the Stadio San Paolo.
Indeed, according to recent reports, West Ham as well as Leicester are in the race for Ounas, who is currently valued at around £16.3m by Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis, more than double his Transfermarkt value.
In an effort to get ahead for Ounas, who has so far managed nine caps for his native Algeria, scoring three goals in that time, Leicester have offered to increase his wages to more than £2m per season – an upgrade on his current £39,000-a-week wage at Napoli.
Likened to former Lyon star Nabil Fekir, Ounas has also drawn Carlo Ancelotti’s admiration, with the Everton and ex-Napoli manager previously waxing lyrical over the Algerian’s ‘talent‘ after a 5-1 Europa League aggregate win over FC Zurich.
The 23-year-old still has plenty of years ahead of him to rediscover such form after playing a bit-part role since signing for Napoli from Bordeaux in 2017, and a move to the Premier League could be exactly what he needs.
However, the report also claims that Leicester don’t want to pay more than £9.1m, an aspect of the negotiations which could prove costly in Brendan Rodgers’ race for attacking reinforecements.
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