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Leicester City Enter Race to Sign Stoke City’s Jonathan Walters

By Robert Molnar

Leicester City (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Leicester City (Credit: Wikimedia Commons) /
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With only hours remaining until the Premier League’s transfer deadline, Leicester City have made a bold move and entered the race to sign Stoke City’s unhappy striker Jonathan Walters. Sky Sports are reporting though that a deal could take the club’s right down to the wire today.

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Also involved in this transfer saga is Norwich City. The Canaries have failed to tempt Stoke City enough with two bids being rejected by the Potters. The rejections have led to the Irish international handing in a transfer request in hope of leaving before the end of today’s deadline.

Valued at £3 million by Stoke City, no club has yet come close to tempting the club to sell their unhappy striker. However, Leicester City have yet to make a bid for the player and with the transfer deadline only a few hours away, push may come to shove in the Foxes attempt to sign their target.

The Sky Sports report also states that while Stoke City would likely sell Jonathan Walters if they received a bid of £3 million, the Potters may still be reluctant to selling their striker without having first found and signed a proper replacement for their first team.

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has already said that even though Jonathan Walters wants to leave the club this summer, the club — including himself — do not want the Irish international to leave the club this summer.

"“He knows my feelings – we want him to stay. Norwich did make a bid but it was nowhere near our valuation of what Jon gives us, so that was sent back very, very quickly.”"

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With the weekend revelation from Stoke City manager Mark Hughes, Leicester City have to know where they stand in their attempt to sign the Irish striker. If they cannot meet the Potter’s valuation of Jonathan Walters, then they should quickly move onto someone else.

Joining Stoke City in 2010, the 31-year-old Irish National Team member had spent the past five seasons with the Potters. During that time he has made 217 appearances for the club while also scoring 51 times including four seasons with 10 goals or more.

While not star player production, a return to those numbers could prove extremely valuable for teams such as Norwich City and Leicester City. Those added goals could just be the difference late in the season between the mid-table and relegation battler.

Prying the Irish striker away from Stoke City will not be easy, however it may be the move that either Norwich or Leicester need to make to ensure a good campaign.

Next: Southampton Sign Virgil van Dijk

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