Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Adam Newson

Chelsea reach Wesley Fofana agreement with Leicester as Todd Boehly strikes world-record deal

Chelsea and Leicester City have agreed a deal for Wesley Fofana that could result in the defender becoming the world's most-expensive centre-back.

The Blues have been in talks with the Foxes over a move for the 21-year-old throughout the past month and have seen three previous offers rejected for the France Under-21 international.

football.london understands Chelsea returned with a fourth bid worth a guaranteed £70million and further add-ons that would take the transfer above the £80million that Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire in 20219. Leicester this evening accepted the offer.

READ MORE Every word Thomas Tuchel said on Chelsea vs Leicester, Fofana, Gordon, Kante, Kovacic, Conte

Fofana has done his utmost over the past 10 days to ensure a switch to Stamford Bridge would be agreed upon between the two clubs. He did not arrive for a day's training earlier this week and was sent to train with Leicester's Under-21s as a result by Brendan Rodgers.

"He’s not training with the first team," Rodgers explained. "He’s training with the Under-21s so he can get his football fitness and keep working. It’s so important at this stage to control any sort of distractions that may be there. I can only pick players who give that full commitment to play for the first team. If not, he trains with the Under-21s."

When Chelsea first registered their in Fofana, Rodgers publicly stated the centre-back was not for sale. However, that stance soon changed and Chelsea were privately given encouragement that a deal could be struck.

Leicester stood firm on their desire for a world-record fee for the defender and the Foxes are hopeful the package offered by Chelsea will eclipse the figure received for Maguire in the years ahead.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.