Leicester Make Ambitious Loan Offer for Barcelona's Francisco Trincao

Leicester City have 'offered' to take Francisco Trincao on loan for two seasons from Barcelona, with an obligation to sign him for £45m.

Trincao - who can play anywhere across the front line, but operates primarily as a winger - signed for Barcelona back in January, with the Catalan giants agreeing to pay €31m for his services.

As part of the deal, the 20-year-old would make the switch on 1 July, but due to the break caused by the coronavirus, the two clubs reached an agreement to allow Trincao to stay with Braga until the Portuguese season was complete.

With the 2019/20 campaign now complete for Braga, it means Trincao can join up with his new teammates. However, the Guardian now report that he is already attracting interest from a number of clubs, mot notably Leicester. The Foxes are 'trying' to sign the player, who has a contract with La Blaugrana until 2025 and a buyout clause of €500m, and have made a two-year loan offer with an obligation to buy for £45m (€50m).

Of course, Barça's financial difficulties have been well documented in recent times due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Ivan Rakitic and numerous others all being linked with moves away as a result. Even Martin Braithwaite could be on his way out of the club, with it being said talks over a move to West Ham are at an advanced stage.

However, the Guardian note that should it prove too challenging to offload some of these players, they will 'consider' a deal to allow Trincao to leave. But at this moment in time, there is no agreement. While Leicester have made the most effort to sign the Portuguese forward, they could face 'significant competition' from elsewhere.

Considering the number of players who are said to be free to leave Camp Nou this summer, it would be very surprising if Barça allowed Trincao - who is considered one of Portugal's most exciting young talents - to depart as well before he has even made an appearance for the club.

However, the 20-year-old has continued to show in 2019/20 why he is so highly regarded, making Leicester's attempts to land him less surprising. Trincao netted eight times and provided eight assists in 27 league appearances for Braga in 2019/20 - including an assist in his final league game against Porto.