Wrexham have re-engaged in their pursuit of Leicester City‘s Harry Souttar after Sheffield United pulled the plug on a potential swoop.

Chris Wilder had identified his former loanee as a key signing for the Blades ahead of next week’s deadline, but faced a steep price tag in order to sign the Australian.

Ultimately, the Yorkshire club called off their chase last week, when it was confirmed that a change in transfer policy meant that United would only pursue free agents or loan deals amid their financial worries.

Red Dragons Revive Chase

However, while Sheffield United’s withdrawal handed Leicester a key boost that they might be able to hang on to Russell Martin’s new club captain, it seems that they are not out of the woods yet, with Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports now reporting that Wrexham have entered talks with the Foxes.

Phil Parkinson’s side have held a long-standing interest in the centre-back, with reports as far back as late June, when Souttar was at the World Cup with the Socceroos, suggesting that a move to North Wales was on the cards.

It is believed that Leicester are holding firm on their previously reported asking price of £10 million, a figure that had thwarted other clubs, including the Blades prior to their self-imposed transfer restrictions.

A report had initially claimed that a deal had been agreed between the clubs for Souttar, but it was later confirmed by Rich Fay that no breakthrough had been made, with the Red Dragons confident that they can get the move over the line.

Wrexham have yet to invest in a new centre-back this window, having allowed both Thomas O’Connor and Lewis Brunt to leave for Peterborough United and Bolton Wanderers respectively.

Leicester, meanwhile, have been actively on the hunt for reinforcements at the back in the wake of Ben Nelson’s devastating ACL injury and have made some progress by recruiting Ilari Kangasniemi from Finnish top-flight side FC Inter Turku.

Nervous Wait Ahead For Leicester

Having finally seen off Sheffield United in their hopes to keep Harry Souttar at the club this summer, it seems that Leicester City are now facing another severe threat to those chances.

Wrexham are in need of some new options at the back of their defence, and Souttar could certainly slot in to Phil Parkinson’s back three system, providing them with extra experience and leadership as they look to develop both Anthony Patterson and Callum Doyle.

Russell Martin has made it clear that his wish is to keep the Australian around at the King Power after handing him the armband in their opening games, but it is not going to be his decision as Leicester seek to balance the books after years of decline.

£10 million is a hefty price tag for any club to deal with, especially for a defender who has had a rough time as of late when it comes to his availability, but as has been seen plenty of times before, Wrexham have been able to cough up fees and secure their targets with relative ease.

Whether any advancements in talks happen remains to be seen, but a deal to sell Harry Souttar could go right up to the deadline, meaning Leicester may once again have to dive into the market to find a new centre-back to play alongside Caleb Okoli.