Leicester City must snub Arsenal's advances for key midfielder James Maddison this summer as Brendan Rodgers looks to build a side capable of finishing in the Champions League places.

What's the story?

According to the Daily Mail, the Gunners would be willing to offer a number of unwanted fringe players in an attempt to land the 24-year-old over the coming months.

The report claims that a £50m offer from the north London outfit would not be enough to bring Leicester to the negotiating table, but Arsenal would allow the likes of Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles to move in the opposite direction to help sweeten any deal.

Rudkin risks upsetting Rodgers

Maddison has been a central figure to Leicester's success ever since he arrived at the King Power Stadium back in 2018. And he was rewarded for his impressive performances with a new four-year contract worth £100,000-per-week just 12 months ago.

Therefore, the Foxes are in an extremely strong bargaining position when it comes to the creative talent, and it could be a perfect opportunity for director of football Jon Rudkin to make a stand.

Much of Leicester's recent success has been based upon their policy of selling one important player for a huge sum each summer, before wisely reinvesting the funds into the playing squad.

N'Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, Harry Magure, Danny Drinkwater and Ben Chilwell have all departed the Midlands outfit for astronomical profit in recent years, allowing the current FA Cup holding to continually punch about their weight.

However, after two consecutive fifth-place finishes under Rodgers, the time has now come to keep hold of their best places and make the final leap required to finish inside the top-four of the Premier League.

Unfortunately for Leicester, if the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United come calling for one of their prized assets and offer an acceptable fee, then there's not much they can do, but Arsenal are longer in the same bracket as the aforementioned clubs.

The capital club have finished below Rodgers' charges in the last two campaigns and face a season without European football for the first time since 1995.

If Leicester want to join the elite band of English clubs and keep their highly-rated manager happy, then Rudkin must reject any advance Arsenal make for Maddison, keeping the core of their impress squad together for at least another year.

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