Wesley Fofana has reportedly told Leicester City he wants to leave the club amid strong interest from Chelsea, with Manchester City also keen on signing the France youth international.
According to the Evening Standard, the 21-year-old centre-back wants to leave the King Power Stadium with Chelsea plotting an £80m bid to sign Fofana, who is eager to leave Leicester to play for the west London side, who this season will be competing in the UEFA Champions League.
Whilst City are also reportedly interested in Fofana, Chelsea appear to be the strongest contenders to sign the former Saint-Etienne superstar, with Thomas Tuchel eager to bring a young and exciting defender into the fold following the departures this summer of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger.
With Thiago Silva in the final years of his career and Kalidou Koulibaly turning 31 this summer, a young defender is exactly what Chelsea need, and Fofana fits the bill perfectly, with the City target now intent on leaving Leicester before the closure of the window in the next two weeks.
Indeed, with Chelsea preparing an £80m offer which Leicester could now accept, City look set to miss out on a promising target in Fofana, however, the reigning Premier League champions will not feel too hard done by given that their centre-back options are some of the best in the division.
With Ruben Dias one of the best defenders in world football and John Stones and Aymeric Laporte sensational on their day, missing out on Fofana will not sting that much for City despite the Leicester star’s age and profile, which fits with the player the Manchester giants have signed this summer in Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.
Fofana leaving Leicester for Chelsea could be another huge gamble
Chelsea are no strangers to big-money signings, with the Blues last summer splashing close to £100m on Romelu Lukaku in what could now be considered one of the worst moves in Premier League history, and whilst Fofana is a completely different case, the risks are still there for the west London side.
After all, a good argument can be made that none of Chelsea’s signings that have exceeded the £40m mark in recent years have been a overwhelming success, and whilst Fofana is a player the Blues need in their squad and at the young age of 21, there’s always a risk that the defender could struggle to adapt after leaving a club like Leicester.
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