Foxes will take ‘anyone’ in Champions League

LONDON: Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has said the club will look to enjoy competing against Europe’s elite in their Champions League debut.

The English champions were drawn in Group G along with Porto, Club Bruges and FC Copenhagen in the Champions League after winning the English top-flight title for the first time in their history.

“We’ll take anyone. We will always give it our all and it’s a new experience for us so we’re going to go out and enjoy it,” the 29-year-old told British media yesterday. “They will obviously be doing their homework on us because they won’t have seen that much and we’ll be doing exactly the same.”

The England international scored his first league goal of the season as the Foxes beat Swansea City on Saturday to get their opening win of the campaign.

“We weren’t meant to win the league were we? We’re not meant to win it this year either. We’re just enjoying ourselves,” he added. “We know we can hurt teams. People saw that last year, so we’ll just keep going out on that pitch enjoying ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Southampton have signed attacking midfielder Sofiane Boufal from Ligue 1 side Lille on a five-year contract for a club-record fee, the club said yesterday.

The 22-year-old scored 12 goals in 34 appearances for Lille last season, helping them reach the French League Cup final and finish fifth in the Ligue 1 table.

Financial details of the transfer were undisclosed but British media reported that Southampton paid £21 million to land the Moroccan international. “Southampton showed big interest in signing me, and I can see that this club is the best place for me,” Boufal said. – Reuters