Chelsea want to sign£85m star'in next few days'at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea are hoping to sign Leicester ace Wesley Fofana in the “next few days”, according
to Fabrizio Romano.
Marc Cucurella is close to becoming the third signing of the Todd Boehly era, but Thomas
Tuchel is still looking for further reinforcements before September’s deadline.
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea are in advanced talks to sign Brighton & Hove Albion left-back,
Cucurella having hi-jacked Manchester City’s deal for the ex-Spain Under-21 ace.
But following the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, Tuchel is desperate
to bolster his centre-back department, especially after missing out on Jules Kounde.
The Athletic, though, believe the Stamford Bridge club have moved onto their next target
in Fofana, with the report claiming that Chelsea are ‘working’ on a deal to bring the Frenchman
to the capital.
However, Leicester have set an asking price of a fee in the region of £80m to £85m,
which would make Fofana the second most expensive player in the club’s history behind Romelu
Lukaku, who cost £97.5m from Inter Milan last summer.
90min have since stated that Chelsea are ‘progressing well’ in their attempts to sign the 21-year-old,
although Romano believes that Tuchel’s side are yet to launch an official bid.
He told GIVEMESPORT: “Fofana, at the moment, is the player they want to sign in the next
few days, so let’s see if they will submit an official proposal.”
In his first two years in the Premier League, Fofana has already shown that he could one
day become a top defender.
Even before his 20th birthday, Fofana had already established himself as a regular starter
at Leicester, which came after the Foxes paid more than £35m to bring him to English football.
Fofana might have age on his side and also have incredible potential, but £85m is still
a steep figure for someone who’s made just 35 top-flight appearances and is yet to make
his international debut for France.
Leicester’s huge asking price might be their way of essentially telling Chelsea that he’s
not for sale, but even in this market, that fee does appear excessive.
To put that into context, £85m would make Fofana the most expensive defender in history,
topping the £80m that Manchester United paid Leicester for Harry Maguire back in 2019.