Steve Cooper close to second Leicester signing with Fulham’s Bobby De Cordova-Reid

Steve Cooper is close to making his second signing at Leicester City with the capture of former Fulham forward Bobby De Cordova-Reid.

Cooper has persuaded the Jamaica international to join the Championship title winners after turning down a contract extension at Craven Cottage.

De Cordova-Reid can operate as a forward or winger and it is understood he will be undergoing a medical at Leicester in the next 24 hours.

The 31-year-old will sign as a free agent and has agreed to join Leicester despite a number of rival offers from Premier League clubs.

His departure from Fulham ends an association of five years with the London club, after joining initially on loan in 2019.

Cooper is working on other potential targets and Leicester expect to complete the £5 million signing of Chelsea teenager Michael Golding today.

Golding, 18, has joined Leicester in a separate deal from the £30 million sale of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea.

Leicester are also hopeful of persuading Wilfred Ndidi to sign a new contract.

Ndidi is a free agent this summer and has been targeted by clubs in England and overseas, but talks are ongoing and Leicester are growing confident of reaching an agreement.

Cooper was named as Leicester manager on June 20 and will welcome his new squad back to training on Monday.

Off the field, Leicester’s bitter row with the Premier League is set to spill over into the new season after a challenge over breaching financial controls was dismissed.

Leicester were charged with breaking Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in March and are facing the prospect of a points deduction.

It has emerged that Leicester argued that the Premier League had no jurisdiction to punish the club as the alleged breach occurred in the 2022-23 season, when they were last competing in the top division.

Leicester have insisted that any sanctions should have been applied while they were a Premier League club.

An independent commission has dismissed Leicester’s challenge, with the club subsequently lodging an appeal and admitting they were “disappointed” with the verdict.

The feud now threatens to drag on into the new season, with Leicester still facing the prospect of becoming the third top-flight club to suffer a points deduction.