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LONDOn. — English Premiership soccer champions Leicester City are battling to sort out the wage demands of their unsettled title winners. Director of football Jon Rudkin met the clubs Thai owners on Monday in a bid to find a resolution to one of the issues casting a shadow over the champions’ build up to the new season. The Foxes have still not tied down five of the stars who helped them to their historic title win to new deals.

And Rudkin’s crunch talks with club bosses were designed to try to speed up the process. Kasper Schmeichel, Danny Simpson, Danny Drinkwater, Jeffrey Schlupp and Riyad Mahrez have yet to be rewarded for their roles in Leicester’s title triumph.

Meanwhile, 24-goal star striker Jamie Vardy agreed a bumper £100 000-a-week deal to stay last month. Midfielder N’Golo Kante was offered the same terms though he opted to join Chelsea instead while captain Wes Morgan penned a £70 000-a-week contract last week.

But the six-figure offers have set the benchmark and left Leicester’s remaining league-winning heroes also believing they deserve big pay hikes taking them close to the terms offered to Vardy and Kante.

Goalkeeper Schmeichel, who started every league game last season, and midfielder Drinkwater, who started 35, are in line for £80 000-a-week deals that see both more than double their money.

Schmeichel (29) has two years left on his current £35 000-a-week contract while Drinkwater (26) is tied to the club for a similar length on £30 000-a-week.

Leicester are hoping to secure the futures of three other stars amid interest in the trio.

They are sweating on the decision from PFA player-of-the-year Mahrez who is being tracked by Barcelona, Manchester City and Arsenal. — The Mirror.