Leicester City locked in battle with Bayer Leverkusen for Chile star Charles Aranguiz

Foxes are prepared to pay big money to replace Esteban Cambiasso

Leicester City remain interested in signing Internacional midfielder Charles Aránguiz despite the Chile international preferring to join Bayer Leverkusen.

According to reports in Brazil, the Premier League outfit have bid a club-record £10.6m for the 26-year-old and are prepared to pay considerably higher wages than Leverkusen to entice him to England.

Aránguiz has informed his advisors that he would like to play Champions League football this season but Vitorio Piffero, the Internacional president, has since implied it would be 'impossible' to reject the lucrative package offered by the Foxes.

"Leicester told us they'll give 15m Euros for Aránguiz," he said. "The difference between their offer and other the offers is very big.

"They are also offering an absurd salary to Aránguiz. The will of the player is crucial. Now, no deal."

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri (Getty)

Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri has seemingly isolated the former Quilmes midfielder, who has 40 international caps to his name, as the perfect replacement for Esteban Cambiasso after the Argentine announced his decision to reject a new contract.

"I hope some new players will arrive at the end of the week," he told BBC Radio Leicester. "We are very close with some good players."

According to the Chilean's representative André Cury, however, the player has no interest in joining the East Midlands club despite them being the only side at present to meet Internacional's valuation.

The stalemate is made all the more complicated by the fact that Aránguiz is part-owned by a third party called Group DIS.

Posts on social media appear to show a meeting taking place yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) between Piffero, Group DIS director Roberto Moreno and Anderson Perry, a supposed Leicester 'representative', for talks over the potential deal.

It remains to be seen whether the Ranieri will prove successful in out-muscling Leverkusen, but the 63-year-old is also optimistic of securing the services of Inter Milan central midfielder Alessandro Cannataro.

The 20-year-old was at the club's Belvoir Drive training ground on Wednesday for talks ahead of a prospective season-long loan deal.