Premier League high-fliers Leicester City have completed their second signing of the January transfer window, having concluded a deal for Daniel Amartey.
The Foxes landed Demarai Gray from Birmingham City in a £3.75million transfer earlier this month, and were then immediately linked with Amartey. It has now been confirmed that the £5million deal for the Ghana international has been completed, and after signing a four-and-a-half year contract, the player revealed his excitement at joining one of the great stories of the season.
“It is a great pleasure to join,” he told the club’s official website. “I know the club have been interested in signing me for some time and that was a big part of my decision to come here. All over Europe, people are talking about Leicester City and how well the club is doing in the Premier League. The team plays exciting, attacking football and I am looking forward to being part of it.”
Amartey began his career in his homeland with International Allies, before moving to Europe with Djurgardens in 2013. He spent a year at the Tele2 Arena before moving on to Swedish rivals FC Copenhagen, who described Leicester’s bid as too good to refuse earlier this week. The 21-year-old midfielder, who can also play at right-back, has six caps for his country.
Claudio Ranieri will now wait for Premier League approval and international clearance before he can consider selecting Amartey, so he will play no part in the weekend clash at home to Stoke City. The Foxes will be looking to bounce back from their FA Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, and a win against the Potters would return them to the top of the league ladder.
Meanwhile, Leicester’s record signing Andrej Kramaric has joined Hoffenheim on loan for the rest of the season. The Croatian international, who was on Chelsea’s radar before the King Power Stadium club swooped to take him from FC Rijeka for £9.7million last January, has made just five league appearances this season having failed to break the Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki pairing.
“I spoke with him (Kramaric) to understand what he wants to do and a loan is a solution that works for everybody,” Ranieri said. “Andrej has the European Championships to think about this summer, so it’s important for him that he has the opportunity to play. He is a fantastic player and a great professional but, in this moment, we have other strikers that are playing well.”
