West Ham eyeing £20m-rated Leicester City star - Foxes should "snap their hands off" | OneFootball

FLW's Leicester City fan pundit has given his reaction to reports that the club are demanding £20 million for West Ham United target Abdul Fatawu.

Leicester City are preparing for life in League One after their relegation from the Championship.

It was another disastrous campaign for Leicester last season as they suffered back-to-back relegations, with Gary Rowett failing to save the club from the drop after replacing Marti Cifuentes on a short-term deal in February.

The Foxes have appointed Southampton and Rangers boss Russell Martin as their new head coach ahead of their first season in the third tier for 17 years, but the 40-year-old has a big rebuilding job on his hands ahead of the upcoming campaign.

A number of high-profile names have already left the King Power Stadium this summer, with the likes of Ricardo Pereira, Jamaal Lascelles, Jordan Ayew and Patson Daka departing at the end of their contracts, while Leicester are set to offload another of their biggest earners as Harry Winks closes in on a move to Cagliari.

However, Winks is unlikely to be the last of the exits, and it appears that winger Abdul Fatawu is once again a man in demand after scoring nine goals and providing eight assists in 44 appearances last season.

After being linked with Premier League trio Everton, Sunderland and Coventry City earlier in the summer, it has been claimed that newly-relegated Championship side West Ham United have made an approach for Fatawu, and the Foxes are now believed to be open to selling the 22-year-old for around £20 million, rather than their previous valuation of closer to £30 million.

Action Images

When asked for his thoughts on Fatawu's reported price tag, FLW's Leicester City fan pundit Jamie Preston insisted that £20 million is an appropriate valuation for the winger, and he admitted he would be delighted if West Ham were to offer that amount this summer.

"A couple of seasons ago, Abdul Fatawu's valuation would have been £30 million, which would have been absolutely fantastic for him as a young lad," Jamie told FLW.

"Now, with Leicester going down to League One after back-to-back relegations, I think £20 million is a fair price.

"He didn't have a very good season last year, he wasn't in the best of form.

"He didn't really impress most of the Leicester fans, he seemed to be a bit out of sorts to be fair and wasn't as good as he normally is.

"I'd snap their hands off for £20 million.

"If West Ham come in with £20 million, then that's perfect."

Leicester City should target quick Abdul Fatawu sale for two clear reasons

Action Images

With Fatawu currently in World Cup action with Ghana, there is unlikely to be any developments over his future before his return from the tournament, but Leicester should try to resolve his future as swiftly as possible.

While it seems highly unlikely that Fatawu will remain with the Foxes in League One, Martin will not want the transfer saga involving the winger to drag on for too long and disrupt his preparations for what is a crucial season for the club.

Martin also has plenty of work to do on his squad ahead of the upcoming campaign, so selling Fatawu early in the window would enable him to use the funds to bring in new additions, as well as helping to balance the books at the club after a damaging few years.