Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has insisted that he believes key players like Kaspar Schmeichel and Riyad Mahrez still want to stay at the King Power Stadium for the Foxes' title defence.
Mahrez has been linked with moves to Chelsea and Arsenal after media reports claimed that he was thinking of leaving the reigning Premier League champions, but Ranieri told the press that he was confident of keeping his squad together.
WATCH: Claudio Ranieri on Leicester's ambitions next season and keeping his star players at the club. #SSNHQ https://t.co/KcIUZQtVPX
He said:"The club is working very well.I think they want to stay with us. To try and to improve on last season we know is very difficult, but we are ambitious.It is important they sign, stay with us, have the experience of the Champions League, and then we will see."
The Italian also said that theclub will be able to replace the departed N'Golo Kante this summer, adding that whoever plays for which team, 'football keeps going'.
Kante left for Chelsea earlier this summer in a £30m move, abandoning the reigning Premier League champions for the Blues and Antonio Conte's bright, promised future - but Ranieri likened the departure to that of Esteban Cambiasso the previous summer.
Claudio Ranieri's Leicester will get a taste of Champions League football vs. PSG.https://t.co/FjebMojCq0 pic.twitter.com/mZnhoZ7N9W
"I think the same as it was last season with (Esteban) Cambiasso.It was difficult to replace but we replaced. It is the same, football keeps going, doesn't stop.Football can lose me, Wes (Morgan, Leicester captain), everybody, but the other people will continue to play football.I think we are a very good squad and we will see, if something more we need, our chairman is ready to buy."
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