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Leicester to sign Adrien Silva after meeting release clause - sources

Leicester City have agreed to meet Adrien Silva's £38.5 million release clause at Sporting Lisbon, sources close to the club have told ESPN FC.

Leicester have been chasing Silva, 27, and his Sporting teammate Islam Slimani as they look to bring the duo to the club before the close of the transfer window.

Sources told ESPN FC earlier on Wednesday that the Premier League champions had agreed a deal for Algeria striker Slimani and now they are on the verge of landing Portugal midfielder Silva.

Silva claimed earlier this week that he was hoping to make the move to Leicester, only for Sporting to release a statement saying they expected the midfielder to stay in Lisbon.

Silva, who helped Portugal win Euro 2016, only signed a new deal at Sporting in February, which included a release clause of £38.5m.

The release clause was the sticking point in negotiations with Leicester reluctant to meet it, but Sporting have refused to budge and the Premier Leauge side have now been forced to pay the fee to land the midfielder.