"£45-50m" - Abdul Fatawu transfer claim made as Leicester City reject "offensive and disrespectful" Sunderland bid | OneFootball

FLW's Leicester City fan pundit has given his reaction to reports that Sunderland have made a bid for winger Abdul Fatawu.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Leicester City could be vulnerable to losing star winger Abdul Fatawu before the end of the summer transfer window.

Fatawu initially joined Leicester on loan from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2023, and he scored six goals and provided 13 assists in 40 appearances to help the club to the Championship title during his first season at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes paid a fee of £14 million to sign Fatawu on a permanent basis following promotion, but after making a bright start to life in the Premier League, he picked up a serious knee injury while on international duty with Ghana in November that ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Fatawu was forced to watch from the sidelines as Leicester were relegated from the top flight, but he started both of their opening two Championship games of the season after returning to full fitness, and he issued a passionate message on social media after the 2-1 defeat at Preston North End on Saturday, calling for supporters to stick with the team during difficult moments.

However, speculation about Fatawu's future is starting to gather pace, and after he was linked with Everton last week, talkSPORT reported on Monday that Sunderland have made an opening offer of £28 million for the 21-year-old.

Leicester City reaction given as Sunderland launch Abdul Fatawu move

When asked for his reaction to the news of Sunderland's bid for Fatawu, FLW's Leicester City fan pundit Louchlainn Martin slammed the Black Cats for making what he believes is an insulting offer, and he urged the Foxes to demand at least £45 million for the winger.

"I'm not surprised at all that an offer has been made, and I'm also not surprised at all that an offer has been rejected," Louchlainn told FLW.

"This guy is special, and he is not for sale.

"I would imagine if someone was to tempt Leicester into selling, it would be an offer in the region of £45-50 million.

"He's going to go to the top.

"He's had an ACL injury recently, which might have cast doubt on him for some clubs, but in the opening games, while he hasn't been amazing or got lots of goals and assists, he's looked electric and explosive.

"You want to see if a player has lost anything after an ACL, but he doesn't appear to have.

"It's going to cost a lot of money for whoever wants to buy him, and £28 million from Sunderland is offensive and disrespectful, he's worth a lot more than that.

"I imagine anything in that region will just be instantly rejected by Leicester."

Leicester City facing big Abdul Fatawu dilemma as Sunderland circle

It is no surprise to see Fatawu attracting Premier League interest, and Leicester could be facing a battle to hold on to their star man ahead of September's transfer deadline.

If the Foxes are to have any chance of making an immediate return to the top flight, they need to retain their best players, particularly as they are unlikely to have the funds needed to bring in replacements of similar quality, so they could decide to take a firm stance on Fatawu and reject any advances over the next two weeks.

However, although Sunderland's offer is well below what Fatawu is worth, Leicester do need to balance the books after relegation given their well-documented financial problems, so they may find it difficult to turn down an improved bid for the Ghana international.