Sources: Leicester hired Dean Smith to lure multiple Aston Villa stars this summer
Leicester City believe new manager Dean Smith can lure multiple top talents from former club Aston Villa in the summer window, sources have told Football Insider.
Smith was appointed on an initial short-term deal but his ties with Villa are believed to be a key reason behind his installation.
Aston Villa have spent big on filling their academy with outstanding youngsters in recent years, and Leicester have their eye on signing them if they are relegated to the Championship this season.
The Foxes want to sign the likes of Cameron Archer and Aaron Ramsey if they suffer relegation.
Both players are currently impressing on loan at Championship high-fliers Middlesbrough.
Ex-Villa boss Smith is renowned for developing starlets, and along with his assistant Craig Shakespeare, knows the youngsters at Villa Park very well.
Archer joined Boro in the January window and has notched eight goals and six assists in 17 appearances for Michael Carrick’s promotion-chasing side.
Ramsey signed a six-month deal at the Riverside Stadium in January and has managed five goals and one assist in 11 games for the club.
He spent the first half of the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Smith’s former club Norwich after he brought the Villa star to Carrow Road, notching three goals and three assists in 20 games.
Smith played a key role in the development of the likes of Jack Grealish, Jacob Ramsey, and Carney Chukwuemeka during his time at Villa Park.
He has been brought in at Leicester until the end of the season with the Foxes staring down the barrel of potential relegation to the Championship.
The one-time Premier League winners are 19th in the table – and sit two points from safety with eight games remaining.
In other news, Newcastle told £50m+ bid will land Leicester star.