Aston Villa are interested in signing Jeffrey Schlupp from Leicester but face competition from Crystal Palace and West Brom for the Ghana international.
Schlupp, who was surprisingly left out of the Black Stars’ squad for the Africa Cup of Nations last week, has rarely featured for the Premier League champions this season having made just six appearances in all competitions. A proposed move to West Brom was blocked by manager Claudio Ranieri last summer after Tony Pulis had two bids of £9m and £12m for the 24-year-old rejected by Leicester.
Despite having another two and a-half years remaining on the contract he signed in June 2015, Leicester are prepared to allow Schlupp to move in this window but rejected a £9.5m bid from Crystal Palace earlier this week. They are likely to return with a new bid in the region of £12m, with West Brom and Championship side Villa also expected to match that offer in the coming days. The German-born player – who can operate at left-back and on the wing – is keen to leave the King Power Stadium in search of more regular football.
The Villa manager, Steve Bruce, is keen to strengthen his squad in this window and is also closing in on the signing of Henri Lansbury from Nottingham Forest for £3m. Forest’s owner, Fawaz al-Hasawi, has yet to rubber stamp the move ahead of the proposed sale of his controlling stake to John Jay Moores, with the American businessman reported to be flying to the United Kingdom on Tuesday to complete the deal.
