Leicester City and Newcastle United are set to battle it out for Fulham captain Tom Cairney, according to the Sun.
Newcastle and West Ham have both already seen £20m bids knocked back for the midfielder with Leicester now entering the race.
Since returning from injury Cairney has been crucial in Fulham’s record-breaking 18 game unbeaten, seeing the Cottagers climb to third place and just five points off an automatic promotion place.
The Scotland international has been nominated for the Championship player of the season award, as well as earning a place in the divisions team of the year. He has four goals and five assists in 28 league games this season.
After being released by Leeds United at the age of 16, Cairney joined the youth setup at Hull City. He signed up to a youth scholarship deal and made his debut at just 17, opening the scoring in a 3-1 victory over Southend.
During his time with the Tigers he played 70 times, scoring on two occasions. In August 2013 he joined Blackburn Rovers on an initial loan deal, before making the move permanently in January.
In his first season with Rovers he was voted the clubs player of the year, after scoring six goals in 40 appearances. Cairney spent just one more season at Blackburn before joining current club Fulham in June 2015 for a reported £3m.
At the beginning of last season, Cairney was elected as the new club captain of Fulham. He established himself as one of the divisions most prolific goalscoring midfielders, scoring 13 times to help the club finish 6th in the Championship.
Should Fulham fail to gain promotion to the Premier League, a move away for Cairney could be a huge possibility. However, the 27-year old only signed a new contract extension last summer until 2021, meaning Fulham are in a strong position to keep the midfielder.
