Claudio Ranieri: 'Danny Drinkwater close to new deal'

Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri has revealed that England midfielder Danny Drinkwater is "very, very close to signing a new contract".

It had been thought that the Foxes would lose a number of key players this summer after their Premier League triumph last season, but Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan have all signed new deals in recent weeks.

N'Golo Kante has moved on to Chelsea, but according to Ranieri, Drinkwater is close to signing an extension despite suggestions that Tottenham Hotspur wanted to bring the former Manchester United midfielder to White Hart Lane.

"Danny is very, very close to signing a new contract," Ranieri told reporters. "Our owner is very ambitious. He wants to maintain the same spirit and squad. He's very curious about this season. We have very good players. It's normal other managers look at Leicester players. We want to continue. We want to stay together."

Leicester are back in Premier League action at home to Arsenal this weekend, when they will look to bounce back from a 2-1 opening-day defeat to Hull City last time out.