Leicester City announce third transfer of the summer in £13m deal

Caleb Okoli has signed a five-year contract at the King Power Stadium after joining from Atalanta, and looks set to be a starter in Steve Cooper’s preferred formation

Leicester City’s third signing of the summer is complete with defender Caleb Okoli arriving in a £13m deal from Atalanta. The Italian centre-back has penned a five-year contract at the King Power Stadium and follows Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Michael Golding into Steve Cooper’s squad.

Okoli’s transfer is the biggest incoming deal of the summer so far for City and it looks like he could be a starter under Cooper. The new manager is expected to opt for a three-at-the-back system, with Okoli potentially fitting in on the left-hand side in a role he played occasionally during his season-long loan at Frosinone last term.

Despite Frosinone’s relegation, Okoli only strengthened his reputation. He looks to be a strong, aggressive defender who will add muscle and speed to City’s back-line, with the club set to face much more threatening attacks than they did in the Championship.

Coming through the ranks at Atalanta, Okoli spent time on loan at SPAL and Cremonese in Serie B before breaking through into the first team. He began the 22-23 season in Atalanta’s starting 11 as they challenged at the top of Serie A, but he found himself on the bench for much of the second half of the campaign.

In search of game-time, the former Italy Under-21 international moved to newly-promoted Frosinone on loan last season, starting 32 of their 38 league matches. One of the youngest squads in Europe put up a valiant fight before going down on the last day.

Okoli usually played as the left of the two centre-backs in a back four, and when the team switched to a back three, he stuck to that side. That could be his role in Cooper’s side, alongside Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes. City have plenty of defenders to choose from though, with Conor Coady, Ben Nelson and Harry Souttar also available.