Chelsea are pretty keen to sign Wesley Fofana from Leicester City, as Simon Jordan has stated that if Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy was involved in this transfer saga, then he would say to those at Stamford Bridge ‘I couldn’t care less how much money you have got’, as he told talkSPORT.
Fofana is a key player for Leicester, just like Harry Kane is for Tottenham, as Jordan highlighted Levy dictating the Englishman’s future last summer when Manchester City came knocking.
Even though it was well-documented that Kane wanted to leave Spurs, he stayed put because Levy put his foot down and now Antonio Conte is looking to guide the club to a trophy or two.
Leicester are the only club in the Premier League that haven’t signed a senior player this summer, but more worryingly, some of their key players could leave.
Fofana is seemingly top of that list, Chelsea are keen to sign the player and he recently missed training which indicates how he feels about the whole situation.
Former Crystal Palace owner Jordan was asked to share his thoughts on the Fofana situation, as he used Tottenham’s no-nonsense chairman as an example.
On if Chelsea should hold back on putting £80m on the table knowing that Fofana wants out: “It depends on the fortitude of the club you are dealing with,” said Jordon.
“If you are dealing with Daniel Levy at Tottenham. He would say ‘I couldn’t care less who you are. I couldn’t care less how much money you have got and where you sit on the food chain. I couldn’t care less if you are a nation-state that owns a football club. I care about what I want to retain. If you want to go and get my player, then you will pay precisely what I tell you and the player will do as he is told’.
“Now, in this instance with Fofana, do you have that same tenacity at Leicester? With arguably the son of a former owner that might not have the same attitude, aptitude and fortitude as his father or the same appetite, which are the rumours that are bounding?
“Daniel Levy with Harry Kane, he didn’t want him to go. So, Harry Kane wasn’t going to go and he took control of the situation. That was the end of the discussion as far as he was concerned. The only way he was going was on their terms.
“The bottom line is that Daniel Levy in this situation dictates the transfer policy of how much he is prepared to accept – if the Leicester guy says ‘he ain’t for sale, I couldn’t care less, unless you take me to a place where it’s absolutely ridiculous’, then you will have the same transaction that you had with Tottenham, i.e if Man City paid £150 million for Kane, then he would be a Man City player by now, but he isn’t.”
DANIEL LEVY AND THE TRANSFER MARKET
In years gone by, Levy has been known to do late business and provide late-night entertainment during the transfer window.
But this summer, it seems as though things are working in a different manner at Hotspur Way, with the club, led by Fabio Paratici in the boardroom, doing things in a very different manner.
Most of Tottenham’s business was done before they could travel for their pre-season tour of Korea, whilst there is small talk of one or two late deals possibly being concluded.
Either way, whilst one side of London is more or less satisfied with what they have done, those in West London will probably still spend a heavy amount, especially given that Thomas Tuchel watched his side slump to a 3-0 defeat at Leeds over the weekend.
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