Leicester ready to boost faint title hopes with loan deal for Juventus defender Demiral

BRENDAN RODGERS is on the look-out for new players this month — but admits Leicester cannot compete with their top-six rivals.

The Foxes are understood to have seen a £25million bid for defender Merih Demiral, 21, knocked back by Juventus over the weekend, as Rodgers looks to boost his side’s push for a top four finish.

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Leicester could return with a request to take Caglar Soyuncu’s Turkey team-mate on loan.

And that is a sign of the kind of market they are operating in compared to the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Rodgers said: “We can’t do what probably a lot of the teams in the top six can do and they can spend £50m, £60m, £70m, £80m, whatever on a player.

“We can’t do that and the strategy is totally different and we are all comfortable with that.

“Every team would like to strengthen in the window. But only if the players are available, and that is key.

“I don’t want to stockpile players. I don’t want to bring in a player for a players’ sake.

“It looks nice on TV on a yellow bar and it is ‘Leicester city have signed a player’, but it has to be part of our plan and identity as a team.

“If we can do that then great if not we will go with the same squad.”

The move for Demiral may gain more urgency if scans reveal Rodgers’ fears that defender Wes Morgan tore his groin muscle in the FA Cup win over Wigan.

Fellow centre-back Filip Benkovic limped off with a jarred knee in the same game, so the Foxes are thin on proven cover for Jonny Evans and Soyuncu over the next month.