Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana has been mooted as a potential transfer target for Chelsea this summer.
Centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both left for Barcelona earlier in the window, leaving the Blues short of options at the back. Since then, experienced centre-half Kalidou Koulibaly and versatile star Marc Cucurella have both arrived at Stamford Bridge, although football.london understands that manager Thomas Tuchel is still keen to add additional reinforcements to his backline.
French youngster Fofana is one player that is said to have attracted Tuchel's attention and football.london has now rounded up all the latest stories linking the former Saint Etienne youngster with a move to west London.
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Goodbye hint
Fofana dropped a major hint on his future at the King Power Stadium after Leicester City's 4-2 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday afternoon. The young centre-half walked over to the Foxes faithful after the final whistle at the Emirates Stadium, appearing to put his head into his elbow as if he were wiping his face - or tears - before wiping his face with his shirt.
It was unclear whether or not it was the Frenchman bidding the fans farewell or not but it certainly looked like that was a major possibility.
Rodgers admission
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers had made it no secret that the Foxes need to sell before they can buy, offering as a huge boost to Chelsea and their pursuit of Fofana. Speaking about his side's lack of transfer business this summer, Rodgers said: “It’s still going to be one where the club need to try and move on some players and see what that releases, there’s no guarantee for us at this stage.
"Once anything happens the club will let me know. In the meantime, my focus is on the players that are here. If something happens later down the line then we’ll address it then.”
World record bid
Chelsea are preparing another bid for Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana in an attempt to lure him to Stamford Bridge with the world record bid for a defender expected to go in later this week, football.london understands.
Chelsea have already had at least one offer rejected for the Frenchman but have been undeterred by the Foxes' swift knockdown and are preparing an offer that would smash the world record for the highest fee paid for a defender.
Read more here.
Rodgers makes transfer speculation claim
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers explained his decision to start Wesley Fofana for the Foxes' Premier League clash against Brentford despite ongoing transfer speculation. The former Liverpool boss was also asked about the inclusion of James Maddison who has also been linked with a move away.
Explaining the decisions pre-match to Sky Sports, Rodgers said on the focus on the duo: "Yes, 100 per cent. I think it's always a challenging time until the window shuts. There's always speculation and gossip around players leaving but I always assess the players everyday and if their mentality and commitment doesn't change, then that's all you want.
"So, yeah, both players are very important players for us and I look forward to seeing them play."
Offer rejected
football.london understands that Chelsea have had two offers for the 21-year-old rejected, with the latest worth £70million.
Todd Boehly is extremely determined to land the player and has made him the number one target for the rest of the window, says CBS's Ben Jacobs, with further bids expected even if the current one is rejected.
The Blues are aware that Leicester wanted more than £70m in cash for the player but fell comfortably short with their first offer which was closer to £50m plus add-ons.
Fofana, who has a contract with the Foxes until the summer of 2027, has established himself as one of the Premier League's most talented young defenders since joining from Ligue 1 two years ago.
Players involved
As with many of Chelsea's dealings this summer, Boehly is keen to leverage transfers with a swap deal in some capacity. Be that via loans with buyback clauses or options to buy, permanent deals or having two negotiations going on at once, Tuchel's desire to clear out his squad players has already seen a handful of players offered out during talks.
Leicester originally wanted Levi Colwill but his position in the deal to bring Marc Cucurella to Chelsea means he isn't available. The Foxes have been more interested in Callum Hudson-Odoi, though they were prefer a permanent deal for the player and Chelsea don't want to sell him this summer, plus, the player would prefer to be sold rather than go on loan.
It is also believed that Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been mentioned in talks, but that hasn't come to anything.
The latest name involved is Ethan Ampadu. The Welsh defender hasn't been given a squad number for the new season and could look to find a move away from Chelsea to strengthen his World Cup hopes. Ampadu makes more sense in a move to Leicester due to his positional similarity with Fofana.
Alternative identified
Another Premier League defender that has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in recent times is Wolves star, Max Kilman. Transfer expert Dean Jones has confirmed that the west Londoners are indeed interested in the commanding centre-half, potentially an alternative to Fofana, considering the 21-year-old's steep price tag.
Speaking to Givemesport, Jones said: "There are other players that they're interested in. I think Max Kilman might be one of them at Wolves, so that might be one to look out for."
Personal terms agreed
According to transfer guru Ignazio Genuardi via Sport Witness, Chelsea "already have an agreement" with Fofana's representatives regarding a potential move. Of course, they still would need to tempt Leicester into selling the young Frenchman, something that will be no easy feat as the player is said to be unlikely to demand a move this summer.
Van Dijk comparison
Former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie Redknapp has compared the young Fofana to Premier League icons Virgil van Dijk and Rio Ferdinand in the past - high praise indeed. Speaking about the former Saint Etienne starlet to Sky Sports earlier this year, former Reds midfielder Redknapp said: "Fofana is one of those when you see a Rio Ferdinand coming through, a Virgil Van Dijk, he is in that quality.
"He is a great athlete, a great footballer. He can play for any club he wants to in the future. He is an exceptional talent."
Asking price revealed
Leicester paid around £36.5million to acquire Fofana back in the summer of 2020, and the Foxes now value him at €80million (£68.4million), according to RMC Sport.
Rodgers verdict
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers will be keen to keep hold of the Frenchman, making his admiration for the player no secret. "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."
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