Leicester City have confirmed the signing of Oliver Skipp from Tottenham Hotspur, the midfielder penning a five-year contract at the club.
The £20m deal is City’s biggest of the summer so far and their first permanent signing in more than a month. It comes just a few hours before City face Spurs in their Premier League opener.
Skipp will strengthen City’s options at the base of the midfield and could even partner old Tottenham team-mate Harry Winks in Steve Cooper’s line-up. He won’t be available to take on his former side but could make his debut against Fulham next weekend.
The move for Skipp comes a little as a surprise with Cooper urging the club to strengthen the forward ranks. City have been looking to bring in a striker amid a serious ankle injury to Patson Daka, while they’ve also been seeking attacking midfielder and wingers.
Skipp, 23, had been looking for more regular game-time having started just five Premier League matches for Spurs last season. He will compete with the likes of Winks, Wilfred Ndidi, and Hamza Choudhury for minutes at the King Power Stadium, with his arrival potentially signalling the departure of Boubakary Soumare.
Cooper has said City have a budget to work with and two more attacking players, plus a full-back, are still likely to be sought by the club over the final 10 days of the window. Before Skipp, City signed Caleb Okoli, Michael Golding, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Abdul Fatawu, and Facundo Buonanotte.