Wesley Fofana has informed Leicester of his desire to move to Chelsea as the defender grows frustrated with the price tag set for his potential summer transfer.
The 21-year-old could cost more than the world-record fee paid for a defender when Manchester United bought Harry Maguire for £80million from Leicester in 2019.
It comes after two bids worth up to £70m were rejected by Brendan Rodgers’ side with no breakthrough yet found, despite Thomas Tuchel wanting to sign one more centre-back.
The France Under-21 international will remain a subject at Chelsea until the end of the transfer window and much was made of how he was told to go over to the travelling fans by Foxes boss Rodgers after Leicester’s 4-2 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Blues also know Everton’s Anthony Gordon is keen on making the switch to west London despite seeing their £43m bid on Sunday rejected.
The Toffees have insisted their 21-year-old academy graduate is not for sale but the Blues could up their bid or offer several fringe players in the hope of making the breakthrough.
After being offered Barcelona duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong, the Blues have not made significant progress to convince either player into a summer move.
The Catalan giants remain open to selling the duo with valuations of £21m for Aubameyang and £71m for De Jong set as Barcelona remain hopeful of funding a move for Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva despite concerns over Financial Fair Play.
However, Chelsea want to receive more positive feedback from the players’ agents before pushing forward with either deal.
Chelsea are also plotting player sales to help cover spending that may go as high as £300m during the summer trading period.
