How on earth are Chelsea going to pull off this Wesley Fofana transfer mission?
Despite all the odds being stacked against Todd Boehly, this hasn't put the American off trying to broker what would be a statement signing type of deal if the Blues are to be successful in this scenario. The Athletic have reported that the Blues are working on deals currently for the Frenchman and Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries. A transfer operation which could cost the current World Champions in the region of £120million.
Now add that onto the £90-odd million already spent on Kalidou Koulibaly and Raheem Sterling and that would take Chelsea's spend for the summer to around £210million. If all was to go well in this situation, those four signings would exceed the budget of £200million set by Boehly at the start of the summer. It was a budget that manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly wanted to stretch to six signings minimum.
READ MORE: Wesley Fofana to Chelsea transfer: Personal terms agreed, move expected, asking price revealed
Therefore, it's no wonder that with Leicester's steep asking price, the west Londoners are trying to find ways of becoming creative in these negotiations to try and get exactly what they want.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the way the third-placed team in the top flight for 2021/22 are planning to force Brendan Rodgers into a U-turn is by offering exiting youngster Levi Colwill the other way in a cash plus player swap deal. Currently, the former Huddersfield Town defender has only been discussed in a separate deal at the moment but that could all change.
“Wesley Fofana is highly rated by Thomas Tuchel, but Leicester currently want almost €90m for the defender,” Romano wrote in his CaughtOffside SubStack column.
“Negotiations are very difficult, with Leicester wanting to keep the Frenchman.
“Leicester are interested in Chelsea defender Levi Colwill, but as I understand, he has only been discussed in a separate deal at the moment.”
It's yet another example of Boehly trying to use his baseball trade-like method to get just what he wants in this situation but unfortunately, unless something rapidly changes, Foxes boss Rodgers is set to stand firm and block an exit for a player who is reportedly not willing to force through a move this summer.
“Naturally, he’s a top talent,” Rodgers said after his side's win over Sevilla in pre-season, via Leicestershire Live. “He’s not for sale. He still has lots of improvements to make. He’s very happy here, he really enjoys being here.
“Naturally he will attract the interest of other clubs. Our job, in not signing anyone so far, is to at least keep the players we have. I know that’s the intention of the club.”
football.london understands that Boehly initiated contacts with the 21-year-old's agent midway through last week. Whether he's willing to pay Harry Maguire-type money if Leicester reject a Colwill plus cash swap remains to be seen.
Chelsea fans - would you be willing to sacrifice Levi Colwill if it meant the club getting Wesley Fofana this summer? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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