Leicester City To Sign Defender Luis Hernandez

- The 27-year-old will link up with the Foxes on a free transfer after his contract with La Liga side Sporting Gijon expires 

- Hernandez has made almost 140 appearances for Sporting Gijon and is a product of the Real Madrid academy 

Leicester City Football Club are delighted to announce that Spanish defender Luis Hernandez will join on a four-year deal, starting on 1 July, 2016. 

The 27-year-old will join the Premier League champions on a free transfer after his contract with La Liga outfit Sporting Gijon expires. 

The central defender is a product of the Real Madrid youth academy, having represented the club’s B and C sides before a move to Sporting Gijon in 2012, where he soon established himself as a starter. 

With the Foxes set to embark upon their first-ever UEFA Champions League campaign in 2016/17, the addition of Hernandez bolsters what is an already formidable stable of defenders. 

Hernandez will join after playing a key role in securing a final day survival for Sporting Gijon in La Liga, during which they secured a 2-0 win over Villarreal that kept them up at the expense of Getafe. 

Since making his debut for Sporting Gijon against Racing de Santander in the Spanish second tier during September 2012, Hernandez has built a solid reputation for himself as a ball-playing defender with an excellent ability to read the game. 

The Madrid-born defender’s 20 appearances during his debut season for Sporting Gijon helped the team to a 10th-placed finish during 2012/13. He further solidified his place the following campaign, playing 38 times en route to a fifth-place finish that saw the team miss out on promotion via the play-offs. 

Hernandez’s influence continued to grow within the team and his 41 appearances during the 2014/15 campaign helped earn Sporting Gijon automatic promotion to La Liga behind league winners Real Betis. 

Although 2015/16 saw the newly-promoted side battling for survival for much of the season, Hernandez had no problems adjusting to the top-flight, as illustrated by a clean sheet against Real Madrid on his La Liga debut. 

Hernandez will join up with his new team-mates when they return to training in July and could feature in City’s pre-season campaign, which includes matches against Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Celtic as part of the International Champions Cup. Full details .