Speculation Grows in Portugal That Leicester City Could Move for Porto Full-Back This Summer

Reports have been gathering pace in Portugal that Leicester City manager Claude Puel could make a summer move for Porto full-back Ricardo Pereira.

The 24-year-old is supposedly highly coveted by the Frenchman, after they spent time working together at Ligue 1 outfit Nice.

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Puel knows Pereira's game well - his versatility is understood to make him an attractive proposition, with him being able to play in either full-back position or as a winger.

Pereira is naturally a right-back first and foremost, meaning he could be in competition with Danny Simpson, who is the wrong side of 30.

Porto, as reported by Record via Sport Witness, would be comfortable enough sanctioning the sale of Pereira since they already have a ready made replacement in their ranks in youngster Diogo Dalot.

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In fact, Porto have actively been preparing to sell the thrice-capped Portugal international, securing a further eight percent of his rights and increasing his release clause to €37.5m.

Although there is a release clause, Porto are not expected to demand that figure which would certainly encourage Leicester, who definitely do need to invest in younger defenders for next season.

Pereira has been linked with Tottenham in the past, with the north London giants lodging a bid thought to have been around £10m-£13m. The Lilywhites were unsuccessful and instead went on to sign Serge Aurier.