BURNLEY’S resolve to keep defender Michael Keane could be tested with Premier League champions Leicester City keen to take the 23-year-old back to the King Power Stadium.

Keane made 27 appearances for the Foxes in the Championship in 2012/13 when he was on loan from Manchester United, and he is highly-rated by Leicester’s head of recruitment Steve Walsh.

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Leicester are keen to add competition to their backline and see Keane as the ideal man to challenge Wes Morgan and Robert Huth for a starting place with the club battling on two fronts next year as they prepare for Champions League action.

Reports in the Midlands have suggested Claudio Ranieri’s side will table a bid in the region of £10million for Keane, but it is understood no offer has yet been lodged with the Clarets.

Keane has attracted the interest of several Premier League clubs since making his move to Turf Moor permanent in January 2015.

He was a key figure in the Burnley side that won the Championship title last season, securing the club an immediate return to the top flight.

He played 44 league games, scoring five goals, including vital strikes in April against Brighton and Middlesbrough, and formed an outstanding central defensive partnership with Ben Mee in the second half of the campaign.

A fee of £10million would amount to a substantial profit on Keane for Burnley, but with the club set to benefit from the Premier League windfall next season to the tune of at least £170million, and having paid off all their debts, they are not in a position where they need to sell anybody.

The former England Under-21 international has two years remaining on his contract at Turf Moor, having signed a three-and-a-half-year deal when he made his loan move from Old Trafford permanent during the Clarets last Premier League campaign.

The Foxes have identified the centre of defence as an area to strengthen this summer.

Both Morgan and Huth are now over 30 while Morgan has been away with Jamaica at the Copa American Centenario this summer, having also been with the Reggae Boyz at last summer’s Copa America and the Concacaf Gold Cup, playing a total of 12 tournament fixtures in the last year.

Foxes captain Morgan has also missed just 222 minutes of league football for Leicester in the last three seasons and with his added international commitments it is considered he may need a break this campaign.

Polish defender Marcin Wasilewski has signed a one-year contract extension at the King Power Stadium, but he is 36.

Keane scored three times in his loan spell in the East Midlands and played in both play-off semi-finals against Watford as Leicester missed out on the final in dramatic fashion.

His performances caught the eye and as well as Walsh Foxes assistant boss Craig Shakespeare also remains at the club.