Football director Andrew Neville has hit out at the critics who have accused Leicester of trying to buy promotion.
City signed 12 players during the summer transfer window, with reports speculating that manager Sven-Goran Eriksson spent as much as £15million.
Neville insists the club's actual spend was nowhere near that figure, and he labelled claims that Leicester have been using their financial might to muscle their way to the Premier League as "irritating".
"Some of the fees we have been quoted as paying for players is ridiculous and way out of line. They have just been inflated," Neville told the Leicester Mercury.
"We have tried to get the best value we can on the players we have been targeting. We are known to have investors who are willing to invest in the squad, so right from the start our position has been more difficult.
"The suggestion we are buying promotion is getting a wee bit irritating. You could say the same about Manchester City and Chelsea.
"In our division, I am sure West Ham and Southampton have spent a lot of money.
"I have been asked to give value to the owners and pay only what we think is right to pay. We have withdrawn from deals where we felt it wasn't right to pay that much."