Leicester City defender Caglar Soyuncu is close to agreeing a pre-contract with Atletico Madrid, and could even move in January, Alex Crook has claimed.

What's the word?

The centre-back has made just two appearances this season as he has fallen out of favour and struggled with injury, and looks set to depart after nearly five years at the club.

The Turkey international was sensational at times over the years for Leicester, making 125 appearances, but a fresh start is needed as he seeks to find his form again.

Speaking on TalkSPORT, Crook claimed that the deal looks set to go through in the summer once his contract expires, but Atletico also want him now and could pay a fee to secure him this window.#

"Another transfer that I've been working on this morning, a bit of an odd one this actually, because he's not even a starter in a fairly average Leicester side, but Soyuncu agreeing a pre-contract with Atletico Madrid.

"It looks like he'll be off there in the summer. I think actually Atletico would like to sign him now but would need to pay for him.

"But that pre-contract, we understand, is now close to being signed for Soyuncu to go to Spain and link up with obviously one of the most defence-minded coaches in world football."

Are Leicester making a mistake?

The 26-year-old is a rarely-seen figure in the team now, but Leicester have struggled defensively at times and Soyuncu at his best could make a huge impact on their performances.

Leicester have conceded 31 times in 18 matches this season and have persisted with a pairing of Wout Faes and Daniel Amartey.

Soyuncu arrived for around £19m, and they are now set to make a loss by his departure for free unless Atletico pay a fee now.

They would need to replace him, either with a first-choice defender or additional cover for their main defence, and with the club already potentially losing James Maddison and Youri Tielemans, this extra bit of necessary business could prove a headache.