Leicester make £23.2m bid for Greek striker and remain in talks over a loan move for former Premier League star

Leicester City have bid £23.2million for Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannidis amid competition from Sporting Lisbon.

The Foxes also remain in talks over a possible loan deal for Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha.

Greece international Ioannidis, 24, scored five goals in six Europa League games for Panathinaikos last season.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old former Crystal Palace and Man United winger Zaha produced one goal and one assist in six Champions League appearances.

Zaha has also been linked with interest from Palace, Wolves and West Ham this summer, with a return to the Premier League – where he previously netted 68 goals in 305 games – highly likely.

Leicester won the EFL Championship last season, topping the table with 97 points after scoring 89 goals.

But the 2016 champions of England have had a pretty underwhelming summer so far.

As well as losing manager Enzo Maresca and star midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, Leicester have been beaten by Palermo, Augsburg and Lens in their three most recent pre-season friendlies.

Now under the management of Steve Cooper, Leicester will return to England’s top flight with a home game against Tottenham next Monday