Finally, we may have some actual movement in the rather unexciting saga involving Leicester City’s Dennis Praet and a potential stay at Torino.
The reports from the past month or so have all been very similar, with the general idea being that the Serie A side, while impressed with what the Belgian offered throughout the course of the season, weren’t prepared to pay the pre-agreed €15m from the initial loan with the Foxes.
That’s because, despite playing well, Praet spent a chunk of the season injured, which caused some concerns about a long-term commitment.
This is all valid for a club whose finances aren’t exactly extraordinary, and their idea was to extend his loan by another year (with a fee up front) while adding a lower purchase clause for next summer.
Tuttosport have an update on the situation on Monday, as they claim this could be an ‘important week’ when it comes to the Leicester midfielder’s future, as David Vagnati, Torino’s director of football, ‘will contact the English club to accelerate matters’.
As explained above, the aim is to extend the current loan, but there remains a need to convince Leicester of the move.
This could all come down to whether the Foxes find any other takers for Praet in the meantime, because if they don’t, the offer from Torino could become viable.
It’s said that Leicester’s initial response was a no, but with 20 days or so passing since then, and no offers being made from elsewhere, ‘the conversations with Torino could be re-opened, possibly on loan but this time with a mandatory option to buy’.
For that to happen, however, Tuttosport say the Italians would want certain goals to be achieved first, such as seeing how his fitness holds up next year (meaning a minimum number of appearances) and where they end up in the league.
Ivan Juric, the manager, has put Praet as his ‘first objective’, wanting to build his new team around the Leicester loanee, and is even prepared to tweak the player’s training to help with his physical issues.
This is why we are in an ‘important week’ when it comes to the Belgium international, as securing his services would ‘send a strong signal, not only to Juric, but also to some players that are in the sights of the club and who, before accepting a move, want to see the club’s intentions’.
