Leicester City set to battle with Wolves for signature of Aston Villa midfielder | OneFootball

Leicester City will be a Championship club next season, and they will almost certainly have a target on their backs as one of the bigger outfits in the second tier.

There's set to be major changes at the King Power Stadium over the summer, with interim boss Dean Smith not staying on and the likes of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes likely to be sold on.

Despite not having a head coach installed just yet following the end of the 2022-23 season, it has not stopped City being linked with incoming players this summer.

And according to a report from the Daily Mail, they are set to fight it out with Wolverhampton Wanderers for the signature of young midfielder Arjan Raikhy.

Who is Arjan Raikhy?

Raikhy is a 20-year-old who has been at Aston Villa since he was a teenager, having started out at Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion.

He made his debut for Villa's under-18's in September 2019 as a 16-year-old and spent the second year of his scholarship splitting time between that age group and the under-23's in the Premier League 2 competition, whilst also making his senior debut against Liverpool in the FA Cup in January 2021 in a fixture that Villa had to field their youth team.

Raikhy was sent out on loan in August 2021 though to experience men's football, joining Stockport County of the National League but played just seven times before returning to Villa and heading back out to County's divisional rivals Grimsby Town.

It was at the Mariners where Raikhy was a play-off winner in the fifth tier, appearing nine times for the club including in a play-off final victory against Solihull Moors.

This past season, Raikhy has been a regular for Villa's under-21's in the Premier League 2 competition and EFL Trophy, playing 24 times and scoring three goals.

What is Arjan Raikhy's situation at Aston Villa?

Having come to the end of his two-year professional contract with Villa this summer, Raikhy will be departing the club as he has not been offered an extension.

It is quite clear that Raikhy would not be coming into either Leicester or Wolves as a first-team player initially, with the likelihood being that he will slot into their respective under-21's squads.

The other option would be to sign the youngster and then loan him out to a lower league club to give him more of a taste of first-team football, having not played above the National League in his career so far.