Serie A outfit plotting transfer swoop for Leicester City defender | OneFootball

Leicester City's first half of the 2023-24 season was something to behold under new head coach Enzo Maresca, and it gave some players who had a tough previous campaign a chance to shine at a lower level.

The likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Wilfred Ndidi, Jannik Vestergaard and others all remained at the King Power Stadium following relegation and are part of a side that currently tops the Championship table, and another who falls into that bracket is Wout Faes.

Faes was signed in September 2022 from French outfit Reims for a fee of around £15 million, and he was a real regular under multiple managers in the starting 11 - ultimately though he would be part of a side that were relegated from the top flight of English football and what most remembered the Belgian for was a double own goal against Liverpool at Anfield.

The 25-year-old has been at the heart of Enzo Maresca's defence however since his arrival as City's new boss in the summer, and as a ball-playing defender he is often seen trying to make things happen with the ball in the opposition half.

With Faes' performances this season, it was always likely that he was going to attract interest, and ahead of the January transfer window opening that is exactly what has happened.

Atalanta keen on January deal for Faes

According to a report from TuttoMercatoWeb, it is Atalanta who have set their sights on Faes' services in the upcoming transfer window as they work their way down a shortlist for a new centre-back option.

It is claimed that Leicester have a valuation that is more or less around the figure that they paid for Faes a year and a half ago, which would be £15 million, and that is despite the fact that he is under contract for City until the summer of 2027.

Atalanta currently sit in ninth position in the Serie A standings and are some 19 points off first-placed Inter Milan, but they did top their UEFA Europa League group, and that is leading them to want to strengthen their hand ahead of the knockout stages.

And having raked in a significant fee for Rasmus Hojlund over the summer from Man United, there is clearly money to spend for Gian Piero Gasperini's side, who the report claims have also targeted Radu Dragusin, Josip Sutalo and Matte Smets, but they are now looking at Faes as a potential option.

Faes has been incredibly important to Leicester, and that is why they cannot afford to sell him in January.

Maresca may have sufficient depth in the form of Conor Coady and Harry Souttar, who could quite easily step in and be comfortable in a top-level Championship side, but Faes still has his best years ahead of him and completely fits the Italian's style of football by being comfortable with the ball at his feet.

The Belgian has not had to be tested massively in the air this season and that will probably come in the Premier League once more next season, but he's developing at a rate of knots and his confidence will be sky-high as well.

Whilst Faes will want the best possible chance of being in the Belgium squad for EURO 2024, and a move into European football and to Italy may help that, he should stick with Leicester and Leicester should stick with him.