Seko Fofana has shown no interest in leaving Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens amid interest from Premier League trio Leeds United, Newcastle and Burnley, general manager Arnaud Pouille tells La Voix du Nord.
Last week, Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli described Fofana as ‘one of, if not the, best player in the league’.
Considering that Lionel Messi, Neymar, Marco Veratti, Lucas Paqueta, Kylian Mbappe, Jonathan David and more are plying their trade in the self-professed ‘League of Talents’ these days, that was quite the claim.
But Sampaoli is not alone.
The Get France Football News website recently named Fofana the 2021 Ligue 1 Player of the Year too. Clearly, Lens’ midfield maestro has come a long way since his short-lived spell at Fulham a few years ago.
Is Seko Fofana returning to the Premier League?
According to FootMercato, Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds would jump at the chance to take Fofana back across the Channel.
Newcastle’s long-running pursuit of a barnstorming, box-to-box midfielder has also led them to the Paris-born 26-year-old.
Burnley, meanwhile, were reported to have opened talks with Fofana before Christmas (Mail).
The bottom-of-the-table Clarets have £25 million burning a hole in Sean Dyche’s pocket following Chris Wood’s departure and have held talks regarding a potential £14 million deal for Fofana.
“For the moment, yes, there have been approaches, interest and a written offer,” Pouille confirms.
“But we don’t want to sell Seko. Or anyone. If Seko wants to stay, he stays! For me, Seko shows no sign of wanting to leave.”
Fofana admitted in December that he was loving life at Lens.
The Ivory Coast international, who’s scored eight goals this season, added that he would be wary of joining a new club, fearing that the atmosphere elsewhere would not be conducive to his unique brand of rampaging midfield play.
“The harmony there is in this team, I’m afraid I won’t find it again if I leave Lens,” said the one-time Manchester City youngster.
“What if I never experienced this (again) elsewhere? That’s it. I’ve never known a team like this.”
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