Leicester City have been handed a boost on the transfer front with Everton distancing themselves from a Steve Cooper summer target.
It has been a summer of change so far at the King Power Stadium, which kicked off with the appointment of Steve Cooper as Leicester City manager.
Cooper replaced Enzo Maresca, who left for Chelsea after securing the Foxes promotion to the Premier League.
Leicester owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha acted swiftly to replace Maresca with Cooper, who joined the club on June 20th.
Cooper got his first glimpse of his new squad last week in Leicester’s first pre-season friendly of the summer against Villarreal on Saturday.
Three of the Midlands outfit’s four first-team summer signings featured in that game, with Bobby De Cordova-Reid the only absentee.
Everton hand Leicester City Arthur Melo boost
Despite the change in management, Leicester have wasted little time getting the majority of their summer transfer business done early.
However, further additions are still expected at the club before deadline day on August 30th, with Arthur Melo one of the names linked.
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reported recently that Leicester and Everton were interested in the Brazilian.
Now, The Athletic have provided a fresh update on Arthur’s situation and it is good news for Leicester.
They report that Arthur is surplus to requirements at Juventus, with the Turin-based outfit looking to move him on permanently.
Crucially, it is added that Everton have distanced themselves from a move for the South American.
Can Arthur Melo replace Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
After selling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea for £30 million, Leicester are somewhat short of quality in the midfield department.
The 25-year-old was a standout performer for the Foxes in 2023/24, scoring 12 and assisting 14 in 44 Championship outings.
Dewsbury-Hall’s presence in midfield will be a major miss for Cooper and it remains to be seen if Arthur is the man to replace him.
The 27-year-old had a promising start to life in Europe after signing for FC Barcelona before joining Juventus in a big-money move.
However, Arthur’s stock had dwindled over the last few years, especially after making just one senior appearance during a loan spell with Liverpool in 2022/23.
The South American featured 48 times while on loan at Fiorentina last term, scoring two and assisting four in said games.
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