Chelsea are now considering making a move for Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana, football.london understands, with contact to the defender's entourage expected to be made this week. The Foxes defender recently signed an extension at the King Power Stadium – with his contract now due to expire in the summer of 2027.
This, though, has seemingly not put Chelsea off in their interest in the 21-year-old defender. The Blues, who have already brought Kalidou Koulibaly to Stamford Bridge, want to sign at least one more central defender, with Thomas Tuchel's preference being another two centre-backs.
Jules Kounde has been the man in the spotlight over the past week or so, but the France international is now poised to join Barcelona instead. The likes of Presnel Kimpembe, who Chelsea have held talks with Paris Saint-Germain for already, Milan Skriniar and Josko Gvardiol remain options for the Blues, but Fofana could be the man the club switch their attention to now.
READ MORE: Kounde latest, Dumfries plan and the transfer business Chelsea must complete before Everton
Fofana has been of interest to Chelsea virtually ever since he moved to Leicester in 2020. The young Frenchman excelled in his first season at the club, attracting plenty of potential suitors, but suffered a serious injury that kept him sidelined for the majority of the 2021/22 campaign.
The Foxes man returned to action before the end of last term, though, and is now hoping for a strong pre-season under his belt before the new campaign kicks off. Chelsea are hoping they can convince Fofana to start that new season at Stamford Bridge, but because of his contract situation, Leicester are in a very strong bargaining position.
Brendan Rodgers will be determined to keep hold of Fofana, who has established himself as one of the best young centre-backs in the Premier League. Rodgers, who was in charge when Leicester completed the £36.5million signing of Fofana two years ago, is a huge fan of the Frenchman.
"His anticipation as a defender is top – he just has an in-built brain for the game, his reading of the game is great," Rodgers said in April of this year. "With all due respect, he has no respect in terms of [when he is] on the field.
"He defends forward, he is aggressive and in my experience working with world-class players, they have got great human qualities outside of the field but when they're on there, they're super-aggressive and that is exactly what he is." Rodgers added: "He is unbelievable. He is a very, very talented young player.
"You think again, he hasn't eaten all day [fasting at the time]... it was only midway through the game that he started to get some food on. He is a phenomenal talent and one that will go right to the very top of the game."
Gary Lineker, who is a well-known Leicester supporter, is also a huge fan of Fofana. Just a couple of months after he signed at the King Power, the Match of the Day presenter knew his club had found "another gem".
Lineker tweeted: "Player alert: the excellent recruitment team at @LCFC have found another gem. Early to heap too much praise, but Wesley Fofana can sweep, he can leap and he can keep the ball, tweeps."
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