Leicester City have suffered a potential blow to their summer transfer plans after it was revealed Arsenal are still interested in signing key midfielder James Maddison.

What's the story?

According to Sky Sports, the Gunners are keen to secure the services of the highly-rated 24-year-old over the coming weeks, with the player said to be "open to the idea" of joining the capital club.

The report claims that while there are doubts over whether Arsenal can raise the funds to buy Maddison outright, they are exploring alternative ways of structuring the deal, including a possible cash-plus-players offer.

Leicester City fans will be worried

Since his arrival from Norwich City back in 2018, Maddison has established himself as a key player at the King Power Stadium, bagging 27 goals and providing 20 assists in 118 appearances for the Foxes, winning the FA Cup crown along the way.

Therefore, the club's supporters will surely be worried at this latest revelation regarding the Englishman's future.

Leicester have reportedly placed a £70 million price tag on their prized asset, though, and are in an extremely healthy position due to Maddison's current contract not expiring until the summer of 2023.

However, Arsenal are believed to be coming up with creative ways to lower the Foxes' asking price.

A recent report from Football.London claimed the north London outfit have offered the likes of Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah as makeweights in a potential deal for the attacking midfielder.

While the Midlands outfit have founded their recent success off the back of selling one key player for an astronomical fee before reinvesting the proceeds, the time has now come for that strategy to end.

Under Brendan Rodgers, Leicester have recorded consecutive fifth-place finishes in the Premier League, finishing above Arsenal in both of the Northern Irishman's two full campaigns at the helm.

And although a huge bid from one of Europe's biggest clubs may be impossible to turn down, Arsenal are no longer in that bracket.

Accepting a raft of fringe players for one of their talismanic figures would send out an extremely damaging message regarding Leicester's future ambitions, likely causing damage to Rodgers' long-term plans for the club.

And, in other news...Leicester can soften Fofana injury blow by signing £22.5m-rated "big prospect"