Thursday 26 January 2017 13:56, UK
Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri will not let striker Leonardo Ulloa leave the club cheaply or before he finds a replacement.
Ulloa has handed in a transfer request and wants to leave the Premier League champions, but the only offer received so far is understood to have come from La Liga side Alaves.
That £1.7m offer was summarily rejected by the Foxes, who turned down a £9m bid from Swansea for Ulloa last summer.
Ranieri said: "Ulloa is still injured. He is coming back slowly. Today he had a little training session.
"I want him because he is a good player. Of course he would like to play more but I have said from the beginning unhappy players can leave.
"But the team and the club are also important. For this reason I sold Jeffrey Schlupp and Luis Hernandez because there were good offers.
"If somebody wants Leo they will have to pay. They have to pay because he is a good player and that is it."
Ranieri was branded a "liar" by Ulloa's representative Horacio Rossi over claims he broke promises to the player but Ulloa has since held clear the air talks with the Leicester manager.
"He told me what the agent said is his words, not his matter, and is okay," Ranieri added.
"The agent said i am a liar, if I'm a liar, I don't want to say what he is. I understand Leo because he is Latin like me. With Leo I always have a fantastic relationship.
"But he must understand me. If I have to let him leave, for me is not good. If I let him go, I must get a new striker."
"When a player sign a contract, they sign a contract. Whether they play or don't play, at the end of the month they take the money. That means be professional."
