Leicester City Transfers: Foxes Agree £18 Million Fee For Dennis Praet

Leicester agree deadline day move for Sampdoria's classy Belgium midfielder.

Dennis Praet, RSC Anderlecht.
John Walton/EMPICS Sport

Quietly but confidently, Brendan Rodgers Leicester City have been having a fantastic transfer window – and it looks as if The Foxes aren’t quite finished with their transfer business just yet.

Via Sky Sports, the 2015/16 Premier League Champions have agreed an £18 million deal to sign Sampdoria’s Dennis Praet.

Negotiations between the two clubs had been ongoing for several days as they struggled to agree on a fee for the player, and the Belgium international midfielder is currently undergoing a medical at Leicester’s training ground after that £18 million figure was settled on.

Advertisement

At one point in time, Praet was viewed as one of the best young prospects in European football and he could well thrive under the management of Rodgers. At 25 years of age, the former Anderlecht player is entering his prime years and could prove to be an extremely shrewd piece of business from Leicester.

On the midfielder’s departure, Sampdoria manager Eusebio Di Francesco has even gone as far as referring to Praet as “one of the best midfielders in Italy” as he was clearly keen to keep the player at Samp.

Advertisement

This transfer will actually be a reunion of sorts as Praet will once again link up with international teammate Youri Tielemans – the pair having played club football together at Anderlecht.

Should Leicester get this one over the line before 5pm today, Praet will become the club’s fourth signing of the summer – following Tielemans’ permanent arrival from Monaco, forward Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United, and right-back James Justin from Luton Town.

Advertisement
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.