Chelsea could offer one of four stars in a player-plus-cash deal for Wesley Fofana amid claims that the Blues will explore swap options to drive down Leicester City’s colossal £85million asking price. Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers flatly claimed that the defender is ‘not for sale’ this week, but Thomas Tuchel could yet try to change his mind. Express Sport takes you through four players who could head to the King Power Stadium…
Levi Colwill
The teenage Chelsea youth product dazzled on loan at Huddersfield Town last season, taking them all the way to the Championship play-off final. Many fans hope to see him phased into Tuchel’s first team set-up this campaign, but the Blues appear determined to sign more defenders – Fofana being one of them.
Express Sport understands that Colwill will push to leave Stamford Bridge if new centre-backs are brought in, with Kalidou Koulibaly already having completed a £34m move from Napoli. And with Leicester one of the teams waiting to pounce should he leave, it seems natural that Colwill could be included in a prospective swap deal for Fofana.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Due to turn 27 this season, Loftus-Cheek made his Chelsea debut all of eight years ago. But he finds himself in a frustratingly similar position with midfield spots due to be crowded out by Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic.
The former England international will surely go down as a wasted talent unless he finds a prolonged period of form elsewhere in the Premier League, and the Foxes could provide him with a platform to show his talent. A player of his attacking ability could come in handy if Newcastle up their bid for Leicester’s James Maddison, even if Loftus-Cheek’s output falls well short of his former Norwich City counterpart.
Billy Gilmour
Another player not to be given a shirt number for 2022/23, the excitement around Gilmour has subsided somewhat after a rocky loan spell with Norwich last season. Like Ampadu, the 21-year-old has plenty of international experience with Scotland, but Tuchel seemingly has no room for him this campaign.
The midfielder’s Chelsea contract runs until 2024, and while Everton were linked a few weeks ago their interest has since gone quiet. Leicester could use a new midfield presence if Youri Tielemans finds a new club this summer, as expected.
