Leicester's Ranieri says won't sell Ulloa on the cheap
(Reuters) - Premier League champions Leicester City will not be pressured into selling unsettled striker Leonardo Ulloa for a cut-price fee, manager Claudio Ranieri said on Thursday.
Ulloa, who has made one league start this season, handed in a transfer request after growing frustrated with the lack of first-team opportunities at Leicester, according to British media reports.
"I want him because he is a good player, of course he would like to play more," Ranieri told reporters on Thursday. "If somebody wants Leo they will have to pay and that is it."
Ulloa's agent Horacio Rossi has branded Ranieri a "liar" and claimed the Italian had broken a number of promises he made to the Argentine during the close season.
"The agent said I am a liar. If I'm a liar, I don't want to say what (he is)," Ranieri added. "With Leo I always have a fantastic relationship."
Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka confirmed midfielder Gaston Ramirez had handed in a transfer request amid reported interest from Leicester but Ranieri remained tight-lipped.
"I don't confirm anything. I don't speak about speculation. In six days you will see everything," he said.
Leicester travel to face second-tier side Derby County in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday before a league trip to face Burnley four days later.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Lough)