Medical underway: Leicester City close in on £70k-a-week Southampton FC outcast | OneFootball

Joe Aribo is closing in on a switch to the King Power Stadium

Leicester City are reportedly closing in on a loan move for Southampton FC midfielder and outcast, Joe Aribo.

That is according to a fresh update from Sky Sports on the publication's Transfer Centre live blog (09:02, Monday February 2nd), with the Foxes looking to complete a handful of moves in the final hours of the window, despite currently being managerless.

Leicester parted company with Marti Cifuentes on January 25th following a 2-1 home defeat to Oxford United, with interim head coach, Andy King, also suffering defeat in his first game in the dugout at the King Power Stadium this weekend.

The East Midlands side were defeated 2-0 by Charlton Athletic thanks to goals from Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes. However, the club's latest alarming defeat in the Championship has been followed up with plenty of discourse on the managerial and transfer fronts.

It has been widely reported that Leicester are closing in on moves for experienced Newcastle United defender, Jamaal Lascelles and a loan swoop for young Manchester City midfielder, Divine Mukasa.

Whilst it has been well-documented that the Foxes are currently in a precarious financial position amid continued talk and fear of a points' deduction, which was backed up last week by president, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the club are set to complete a loan switch for one of Saints' highest earners.

Leicester City close in on loan move for Southampton FC midfielder Joe Aribo

Aribo has endured a frustrating time on the South Coast after joining Southampton for a reported £10m in the summer of 2022 from Scottish Premiership giants, Glasgow Rangers.

The 34-time Nigerian international had scored in the UEFA Europa League final for the Light Blues against Eintracht Frankfurt just a matter of weeks before finalising said deal, although he hasn't come close to replicating such form for Saints over time.

It was reported following Southampton's relegation from the Premier League alongside Leicester and Ipswich Town last term that Aribo would be free to leave for a reduced fee in the summer transfer window, although a move failed to materialise amid interest from Turkish Süper Lig side, Besiktas.

In the lead-up to the current winter window, the 29-year-old featured in seven Championship outings under Eckert, albeit all of those outings would come from the substitutes' bench.

The last of those came in the 3-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion on December 9th, before talk of a potential return to Ibrox under the management of Danny Rohl resurfaced.

Transfer talk on that particular front has since cooled, and Leicester have reportedly made their move to sign the experienced playmaker on loan for the remainder of the season.

Sky Sports have reported that Aribo is set to undergo his medical with Leicester before the deal is finalised.

At this stage of his career, Aribo has to source minutes week-in, week-out, and that certainly hasn't come at Southampton despite earning an ESTIMATED salary of £70,000 per week.

It is a deal which could benefit the Foxes if the playmaker is to make a swift return to form, with star performer, Jordan James, currently in the treatment room after a recent hamstring injury.

However, it is also very intriguing that Leicester are working on so many late moves whilst no major breakthrough has yet been made in their hunt for Cifuentes' successor.