Leicester City considering Arsenal defender as summer transfer addition | OneFootball

Leicester City will be expected to lose plenty of players this summer thanks to their relegation from the Premier League, but with pre-season on the horizon they are going to need to add to their squad to replace those potential outgoings.

The likes of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes will no doubt depart the Foxes, and as expected there's more speculation regarding outgoings than incomings, but City fans are finally seeing some names touted with transfers to the club.

Both Harry Winks and Zack Steffen have been linked with moves to the King Power Stadium, and they have been joined in the rumour mill by a player with a lot less experience in the form of Arsenal centre-back Zach Awe.

According to The Telegraph's Mike McGrath, the Foxes are 'discussing' a move for the 19-year-old, who is set to depart Arsenal at the end of June in just a few days time, and new head coach Enzo Maresca potentially knows Awe from his days as Man City's Elite Development Squad head coach.

Who is Zach Awe?

Awe has been in the Arsenal academy system since he was a child, progressing through the ranks to make his first under-18's appearance in August 2019 at the age of 15 and was capped by England at under-16 level before that.

His breakthrough as an Arsenal under-18's regular came in the 2020-21 season when he was 16 for the most part, featuring 18 times in the youth version of the Premier League, and having stepped up to the under-21's during the 2021-22 season he was named on the bench for a Premier League clash by Mikel Arteta against Wolves in February 2022.

After playing 27 times in the under-21's last season for the Gunners, including against senior clubs in the EFL Trophy, Arsenal are letting the 19-year-old leave for free in order to further his career, with the need for regular senior minutes a must in his development.

What is Zach Awe's situation at Arsenal?

At the end of this week, Awe's contract will officially come to an end at Arsenal.

Awe signed his first professional contract two years ago with the Gunners, but he is being allowed to leave in order to pursue regular first-team football despite only being 19 years of age.

The Gunners are in a similar position with Charlie Patino, who spent last season on loan at Blackpool, although they are set to sell the midfielder for a fee as he's still under contract.

Awe has been attracting Championship attention once it was revealed that he was exiting Arsenal, and his situation means that Leicester can land him for absolutely nothing this summer.