Leicester City have agreed a deal with Napoli to sign the midfielder Gokhan Inler for £5m. Claudio Ranieri has been looking to replace Esteban Cambiasso at the heart of his midfield and convinced Inler to come to the Premier League rather than joining Schalke or Besiktas, who were also interested in the 31-year old.

The Swiss international has spent the last four years at Napoli, playing more than 100 league games for the Serie A side, and captained Switzerland at last year’s World Cup.

Cambiasso played an important role in keeping Leicester in the Premier League last season under Nigel Pearson but Ranieri was unable to convince the Argentinian to sign a new contract and he subsequently joined Olympiakos. Ranieri said in early August about Cambiasso: “He is a team leader and, if he doesn’t come, I need another team leader.”

Leicester won their opening game of the Premier League season, beating Sunderland 4-2, and go to West Ham United on Saturday afternoon. Inler will not join in time to face the Hammers but is expected to undergo a medical and sign his contract in the next few days.