Leicester close in on £22m deal for Adrien Silva as Chelsea continue to chase Danny Drinkwater

Leicester City have moved closer to reaching an agreement with Sporting Libson for midfielder Adrien Silva and are hopeful of sealing the signing before the transfer deadline.

According to separate reports in the Mirror and the Daily Mail, the Portuguese giants value the 28-year-old at £22m but have to offload players to balance the books and Silva could be among those departing the Portuguese capital this summer.

Last summer, the Foxes had a agreed a deal for Silva, who scored four goals in 27 league appearances last term, before opting to sign his then teammate Islam Slimani for £27m instead.

A graduate of Sporting's famous academy, Silva is a central midfielder who occasionally operates in a deeper role and has played 237 times for the club since turning professional a decade ago, winning two league titles with the club. The Portugal international has also won 20 caps for his country and was included in the squad that won the European Championships in 2016 and finished third at the Confederation Cup earlier this summer.

Silva's arrival would have a significant impact on the future of Danny Drinkwater, who submitted a transfer request earlier this week as he looks to force a move to Chelsea, which are understood to have had two separate bids rebuffed.

Antonio Conte has identified the England international as the man to replace Nemanja Matic at Stamford Bridge but Leicester are holding out for £35m to part ways with the midfielder.

The two clubs are reportedly still far from reaching an agreement but last season's Premier League champions, who are also keeping tabs on Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, are desperate to sign Drinkwater after missing out on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Chelsea had reached an agreement with Arsenal after having a £40m offer accepted but were left empty-handed after Oxlade-Chamberlain snubbed them and moved to Liverpool instead.

The Blues also look set to lose out in the race for Fernando Llorente, with the Spaniard on the verge of completing a move to Tottenham Hotspur from Swansea for a fee between £11m and £14m.

Chelsea had opened negotiations with the south Wales outfit as Conte looks to bolster his offensive options and be reunited with Llorente, whom he managed during his spell at Juventus. However, Spurs have stolen a march on their London rivals and are now in pole position to sign the striker, who scored 15 goals last season and played an instrumental role in helping the Swans to safety.