Chelsea are reportedly ready to splash £70 million to land French defender Wesley Fofana from Premier League club Leicester City this summer.
According to The Times, Premier League giants Chelsea are ready to pay a king’s ransom of £70 million for Leicester City’s French defender Wesley Fofana.
The 21-year-old has been a revelation since joining the Foxes from Saint-Etienne in 2020. Fofana has established himself as a mainstay in Brendan Rodgers’s backline and has made 50 appearances for the Premier League club, scoring and assisting one goal apiece.
A dominant centre-back whose understanding of the game belies his years, Fofana played a key role in Leicester’s maiden FA Cup win in 2021. An unfortunate injury in the pre-season campaign ahead of 2021/22 saw him miss a massive chunk of the campaign, but that has done little to deter Chelsea from moving for him this summer.
The Blues lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, leaving a huge void in their centre-back roster. While signing Kalidou Koulibaly has helped offset it to an extent, further reinforcements are needed at Chelsea before the summer transfer window shuts.
Having missed out on Matthijs de Ligt, Nathan Ake and Jules Kounde, Chelsea have now zeroed in on Fofana. The Blues had an opening bid worth £60 million turned down by their Premier League rivals, but that has done little to deter them.
The west London outfit are not ready to make an improved offer worth £70 million to force Leicester City’s hand. The Foxes, for their part, are holding onto their horses and are seeking a world record fee of £85 million from Chelsea. This will surpass what Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire, setting a record for the highest fee ever paid for a defender.
Leicester City have already informed the player that they are open to letting him leave next summer. They have no plans of selling him now, and with his contract running until 2027, the Foxes hold the aces in negotiations. Good on the ball and strong in the air, the young Frenchman is the complete package.
Apart from the athleticism, Fofana also possesses the intelligence needed to thrive as a modern-day defensive colossus. Signing him would secure Chelsea’s defence for at least a decade should he live up to the expectations.
The signing of Koulibaly, while promising, is only a short-term solution. The Senegalese international is not getting any younger, and the ideal way forward would be to get in a younger partner he can mentor. Fofana has all the traits needed to be that man. It could all depend on just how much Chelsea are ready to fork out and whether Leicester are open to playing ball, especially for £70 million.
