Cooper admits lying to media as two Leicester men near transfers

Leicester City manager Steve Cooper insists that he did not lie to the press about an incident. If you are not aware, talismanic LCFC striker Jamie Vardy was previously ruled out of his team's entertaining Monday night match with Tottenham Hotspur. However, the great forward did eventually feature in the starting lineup and was instrumental in City's turnaround performance. Cooper had to justify the former England international's inclusion. What is all the fuss about?

Elsewhere in the King Power sphere, there are a couple of pieces of transfer speculation to cover. Two Foxes are respectively nearing exits, if we trust reports. Will Boubakary Soumare and Tom Cannon be on Filbert Way for much longer? And are the pair supposedly leaving on permanent or temporary deals? Not to mention whether or not the east Midlands side have something, or anything, coming in the pipeline.

Transfer gossip

Let's begin with the latest three Leicester claims doing the rounds, by my calculations. First of all, the two potential leavers. It appears that Tom Cannon is not en vogue with his boss, as it were.

I was hoping to appraise Cannon, especially if Vardy were unavailable. If nothing else, the ex-Everton prospect is a legitimate centre forward. And the Foxes did shell out quite a bit to acquire his services.

Nevertheless, Cannon is apparently not in Cooper's plans, and must take the rough with the smooth. The 21-year-old is set to leave on loan, with a number of lower league outfits reportedly interested in signing him for the season.

You never know, Cannon may get the minutes and experience required to sharpen his skill set. Then he could return to Filbert Way with something to prove and the capability to do so. Sheffield United are meant to be leading Middlesbrough and Stoke City for the signature.

Boubakary Soumare is coveted by Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce, according to reports. The midfielder has a plethora of Foxes ahead of him, amplified by Oliver Skipp joining. So Soumare's departure feels necessary and imminent.

Now, is anyone else likely to join LCFC at this stage? Possibly, yes. Santiago Gimenez of Feyenoord has been added to Leicester's wishlist, it is claimed. The Mexican is a rated striker, so keep an eye out there.

Why and how Jamie Vardy made a miraculous as well as timely recovery for Leicester City

Some observers assumed Cooper intentionally lied about Vardy's fitness in the lead up to the Spurs contest. I'll be honest, I'm not sure why managers don't employ more beneficial deceit and disinformation. But was the boss dishonest this time?

"If the game was yesterday or Saturday, he [Vardy] wouldn’t have played. There were no mind games or lies. There were no lies in the press conference. I have done that [lied to press] before but I wasn’t this time."

- Steve Cooper