Leicester City ‘considering transfer’ of player who failed at Derby County

Leicester City are tipped to take on Southampton over a move for former Derby County Slovenia midfielder Timi Elsnik.

Elsnik, 26, has been catching the eye of scouts at Euro 2024 as he helped Slovenia draw with Denmark, Serbia and England to qualify from Group C and secure a place in the last 16 against Portugal on Monday.

He has apparently been linked with Lyon and Lazio, according to the Daily Mail, but it is Leicester and fellow promoted Southampton who are most likely to pay £5.5m – and he is expected to make a move in the coming weeks.

READ MORE: Business that must be done by June 30th so that the city avoids the PSR nightmare

FIND OUT MORE: Join our city WhatsApp group and get transfer news delivered to your phone

Elsnik joined Derby’s youth team as a teenager and had loan spells at Swindon, Mansfield and Northampton, but made just three cup appearances for his parent club before returning to Slovenia to join Olimpija Ljubljana.

He told former Leicester defender and Derby manager Gary Rowett last week: “When someone looks in from the outside and sees you’re playing at this level now, they wonder how it’s possible considering where you’ve come from. But you go step by step and every day it becomes normal, it’s not like out of nowhere, from Swindon, I’m thrown into this Portugal game. It becomes part of you.

“Slovenia have some good players and the core is still young. Some players can be a springboard to make transfers to better leagues, better clubs, and they will grow there. If we keep this core and develop as we should, in the future I hope it won’t take 24 years for Slovenia to qualify for the Euros. I think we have a good chance to appear regularly in these competitions.

“I hope I’m one of those who goes to a better club and they take good care of me to develop me even more because I know I still have room to grow. I’m not a finished product, so let’s go.”

Elsnik did not play in the league for Derby but he made a good impression on those around him.

Former team-mate Darren Bent told the Guardian this summer: “He was brave, he wasn’t afraid to take the ball or compete with senior members of the team. We all saw in training that he had skill, a lovely left foot, (he could) manipulate the ball, score goals, but injuries killed him a bit, he couldn’t get a run of games. It’s great to see the rise he’s had. I sent him a good luck message before the tournament.”

Former Derby academy director Darren Wassall added: “He could handle the ball, his first touch was excellent. We always looked for players who could play forward. He knew where the next pass was going to go, his left foot was excellent, he hardly ever lost the ball and he didn’t play it safe. He wasn’t worried about making a mistake; creative players probably lose the ball a bit more because they’re trying to make things happen. You always felt his technical ability was better at a higher level, playing with better players.”

Good target? Give your opinion in the comments section