‘The matter will change in the summer’ – Leicester City almost closed January signing, can now get it done

It seems Leicester City may be able to quickly erase any frustration at failing to sign Gabriel Pereira from Gil Vicente in January.

Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb today shares a story saying the Foxes tried to sign the player on a loan with an option to buy, which would be triggered in case of promotion to the Premier League, worth €5m.

That deal was very close to happening, but didn’t get over the line.

Gil Vicente weren’t convinced in the end, especially because they were fighting against relegation, and decided to hold the player. Now, according to the website, there’s a much bigger competition for Leicester City to face, as ‘the matter will change in the summer’.

It’s said that Benfica, Braga, Lyon and Udinese are all interested in the centre-back, who has a market valuation worth between €6m and €7m.

TMW mention Leicester City in the story, and Gil Vicente will be more open to a sale in the coming months, happier to sell in the summer than when they really needed the player in January.

It seems like the Foxes’ idea was to have him in the Premier League this season, and there’s a deal right there to do and make that happen.