Christian Eriksen transfer: Leicester City held talks with Inter about midfielder but has a problem
Christian Eriksen has attracted interest from Leicester, but the Inter midfielder’s salaries are too high for the Premier League club; The former Tottenham player is on the transfer market in January while the Serie A club tries to dump him on loan; Leicester also watched Real Madrid’s Martin Odegaard.
Leicester held preliminary talks with Inter Milan over a loan deal for Christian Eriksen but walked away when the cost of the deal became clear.
Sky Sports News confirmed a report from the Daily Telegraph, claiming that the Danish midfielder’s £ 300,000-a-week salary at the Serie A club thwarted Foxes’ interest.
Eriksen’s salary at Inter is thought to be nearly three times what Leicester’s highest earnings earn and the club’s hierarchy is unwilling to sanction a deal at that cost.
The 28-year-old, who joined Inter from Tottenham a year ago on a £ 16.9m contract, has been linked to a return to the Premier League this month after being deemed “non-functional” to Antonio Conte’s project in Italy.
However, a loan deal for a midfielder remains a possibility for Leicester in January as they seek to cover Dennis Praet’s hamstring injury which will keep him out for three months.
On Thursday, Sky Sports News reported Leicester was interested in the possibility of signing Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard on loan when it became clear he would be allowed to leave in January.
But after preliminary discussions the club decided not to chase him, leaving Arsenal and Real Sociedad in the driver’s seat as the race to sign the Norwegian national team heats up.
Hamza Choudhury and Demarai Gray futures are closely linked to what Leicester can do in the loan market. If Brendan Rodgers manages to attract more cover, Leicester is more likely to allow both of them to leave.
Choudhury is a loan target for Newcastle and West Brom, while Gray – whose contract is due to expire in the summer – is a target for a number of overseas clubs, including Marseille.
