Leicester City are holding out for a fee of around £6 million for defender Ben Nelson as Serie A outfit Torino begin to circle.
The 22-year-old is a product of the Foxes academy and made his debut for the club in August 2023 in a League Cup clash against Tranmere Rovers. A league debut followed in December and he finished the 2023/24 campaign with five Championship appearances to his name.
Promotion to the Premier League saw Leicester opt to send the youngster on a season-long loan to Championship newcomers Oxford United. After breaking into the starting XI in September, he then suffered a quad injury in November which kept him out of action for four months.
With his parent club dropping back into the second tier at the first time of asking, this offered Nelson an opportunity to stake his claim. Despite having to be patient, the centre-back 20 successive games between December and March before losing his place in the team.
Leicester Looking To Cash In
Leicester suffered a miserable campaign last season to suffer a second successive relegation. They are currently preparing for life in League One, just 10 years after their miraculous Premier League triumph in 2016.
As such, a number of players are set to exit the King Power Stadium. This includes the likes of Jannik Vestergaard, Abdul Fatawu, Jeremy Monga, Victor Kristiansen and Jordan James.
Nelson is the latest to have been touted with a move, with seven-time Italian champions Torino said to be interested. According to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, talks between the two clubs have started. Despite the negotiations, it is claimed that there is ‘a gap on figures’.
Trattativa in corso, ma al momento c’è distanza sulle cifre👇 https://t.co/NGcykyBs7m
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 23, 2026
Sports Witness state that the 2021 FA Cup winners value their academy graduate at between €6-7 million (£5.1-6 million). However, the report continues by saying that ‘the move hasn’t stalled’.
Huge Opportunity For Nelson?
Nelson is a player who has long been touted to have a big future. Having represented England across several age groups, he is a giant of a central defender who has also been linked with Manchester United.
A move to Italy’s top flight would represent a huge opportunity for the 22-year-old. A host of British talent have made the move across the continent in recent years.
The best example of this is defender Fikayo Tomori, who joined AC Milan from Chelsea in 2021. His form at the San Siro has seen him win a number of England caps.
At Torino, Scottish attacker Che Adams headed to Turin from Southampton in 2024. He has since gone on to score 18 goals in 74 appearances for the club.
The former Doncaster Rovers loanee has one year remaining on his existing deal. This means that for this move to go through, Leicester will likely have to lower their current valuation.
