Leicester to make £30m Gibson swoop
Champions ready to break transfer record Schmeichel confident of victory over Atlético
Leicester City are targeting a summer move for Middlesbrough centre-half Ben Gibson for what could be a club-record fee.
Middlesbrough will demand around £30 million for the defender, who is the nephew of club chairman Steve Gibson, but he has been identified as a leading target for the summer by Leicester’s recruitment team.
The defending champions have been pursuing a new centre-half for 18 months, and failed in a bid to sign Burnley’s Michael Keane last summer, with Everton now at the front of the queue to recruit the England international.
Leicester also encountered problems in a deal for Anderlecht’s Kara Mbodji in January and eventually signed Udinese’s Molla Wagué on deadline day. But Wagué dislocated a shoulder on his debut at Millwall, ruling him out for the season, to leave Leicester still short of defensive options.
Gibson, 24, has impressed for Middlesbrough this season and has been watched by the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Stoke, earning a call-up to the senior England squad.
Leicester’s transfer record is the deal worth up to £28 million for Islam Slimani. They are prepared to move for Gibson at the end of the season as they look to offer competition for Wes Morgan and Robert Huth. Morgan is facing a desperate race against time to be fit for Leicester’s Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday. The Leicester captain has missed the past five games with a back injury, but manager Craig Shakespeare has admitted he could be fast-tracked. Huth is suspended for the second leg, but Morgan could make his return as Leicester bid to reach the last four, after their 1-0 defeat at the Vicente Calderón Stadium.
Kasper Schmeichel, the goalkeeper, believes Leicester can extend their European adventure and knock out last season’s beaten finalists. “Why not? We have always said that. There is a semi-final of the Champions League on the line, so I think everyone is very much up for the fight.”
Leicester, meanwhile, have con- firmed they are working with Uefa and the Spanish authorities as they investigate the ugly clashes involv- ing fans and police before kick-off.
A number of supporters were arrested in the 24 hours leading up to the game, and videos of skir- mishes in the city’s Plaza Mayor have circulated on social media.
A Leicester spokesman said: “We are working with Uefa and the local authorities to establish the full facts of what took place and the reasons for the police response.”
Uefa has charged Leicester’s sports scientist, Tom Joel, with improper conduct for encroaching into Diego Simeone’s technical area and handing out energy sup- plements to players. Joel was sent to the stands and will also be banned from the touchline for the second leg.