Leicester striker Leonardo Ulloa has submitted an official transfer request.
Leicester are still considering an offer from Alaves, the only concrete bid on the table for the forward, although there is other interest.
The bid remains undisclosed but is much smaller than the one Leicester rejected for Ulloa in the summer, when both Sunderland and Swansea were said to be interested in him.
The Foxes could come back with a contract offer to try to convince Ulloa to stay – but reports suggest that the 30-year-old’s mind is well and truly made up.
He wants to leave and has been unhappy over his lack of playing time with the champions this season. He has not been rewarded with a new deal after helping them win the title last term.
Ulloa, who signed from Brighton for £8million in 2014, has 18 months left on his deal but money is not an issue as he wants to play more regularly having been restricted to seven league starts last term.
He has made just two starts this term and has scored once in 19 appearances in all competitions so far, which will undoubtedly unsettle the forward.
Leicester would like to keep Ulloa and he remains a popular figure at the club, with boss Claudio Ranieri understanding his frustrations.
Islam Slimani, a record £30million buy last summer, Shinji Okazaki and Jamie Vardy are all ahead of him in Ranieri’s view, making game time difficult to come by.
With Slimani on duty with Algeria at the African Nations Cup, Leicester are reluctant to let Ulloa go during this transfer window,but will no doubt be looking in the market for a potential replacement, in the event that Ulloa does make the decision to leave the club.
Although Leicester fans are aware they will not defend their Premier League crown, they will be hoping this does not have a long term impact on the side as they aim to finish as high up the table as possible, and avoid any kind of relegation scrap.
