Leicester willing to break Championship transfer record to sign Brazilian wonderkid linked with Arsenal and Liverpool

Leicester City are willing to break the Championship transfer record to sign one of Brazil's most highly-rated players, according to reports.

Enzo Maresca's side are on course to make a Premier League return at the first time of asking.

The Foxes, who suffered relegation from England's top flight last season after a poor campaign, currently sit top of the Championship with 17 wins from a possible 21.

In fact, Maresca's men have conceded just eight goals on their travels this season, as the likes of Jannik Vestergaard, Conor Coady and Ricardo Pereira continue to impress.

A number of defenders left in the summer, including Timothy Castagne, Jonny Evans, Ryan Bertrand and Caglar Soyuncu, but Leicester have made major improvements at the back.

With all that in mind, you may be surprised to hear that Leicester are in the market for a centre-back. And it's not just any defender.

Leicester are currently in the race to sign highly-rated Brazil U20 international Lucas Beraldo from Sao Paulo in a deal that could spill over €20 million.

According to Brazilian publication UOL, Russian Premier League side Zenit Saint Petersburg have already had a €18 million bid rejected for Beraldo, who has been linked with Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle.

But the Championship side have already told Sao Paulo that they will outbid the Russian club.

If Leicester do make an offer over the €20.2 million mark, then it would likely eclipse the £17.5 million spent by Huddersfield on Terence Kongolo, who joined the Hatters from Monaco in 2018.

Image credit: Getty

Enzo Maresca, meanwhile, has made a terrific impression since his appointment in the summer.

Gary Lineker, a die-hard Leicester City fan, says the Italian is doing a "terrific" job at the King Power. “He was one of Pep’s (Guardiola) graduates you could call him, and he’s done a really good job," he said on The Rest is Football podcast.

“It is very much a possession-based style of football and we tend to wear a lot of teams down and score a lot of goals late in games.

"We are playing some good football and it is encouraging that we are top of the table and long may it continue until we are back in the Premier League.”