Whether or not Chelsea should splurge around £85million on Wesley Fofana remains the million-dollar question.
Three years ago, the Foxes managed to agree an £80million fee with Man United for Harry Maguire. A transfer that had Leicester laughing to the bank with Erik ten Hag the latest to try and get the Englishman to justify his extortionate price tag.
The same type of money this time around will be required if the Blues are to prevail in this transfer pursuit of the Leicester star. The Athletic have reported that new owner Todd Boehly is currently working on a Fofana and Denzel Dumfries double transfer swoop as Chelsea aim for their fourth and fifth summer signings, as young goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina is expected to be confirmed very soon after his medical on Monday in London was completed.
With Brendan Rodgers adamant that Leicester’s number 3 isn’t for sale at any price, it begs the question as to whether it’s worth the Blues facing this uphill battle in trying to convince their Premier League counterparts to sell. Remember, the transfer window only rumbles on to September 1 and with other transfer targets eyed, Boehly has a big task on as interim sporting director to help provide manager Thomas Tuchel with the best tools to do the job in 2022/23.
If it was Steve Nicol’s decision, Fofana to Chelsea would not be a thing this summer. “If Fofana goes to Chelsea he’s off his head,” he told ESPN FC.
“The kid’s not ready, he burst onto the scene – you could say – but he’s not anywhere close to being the finished article. His biggest problem is his starting position. Playing for Leicester week-in, week-out even if you’re making mistakes, you’ll learn quicker and you’ll then be the finished article. You’re not going to be doing that at Chelsea if you’re not playing regularly, he needs to play regularly and he’ll be off his head to go to Chelsea.”
Frank Leboeuf, whilst not completely agreeing with Nicol, did pose the question about what this big money move could mean for the rest of the Chelsea defence and the knock-on effect that could follow as a result.
“It’s always a bet that you make because you never know when the defender’s going to settle down,” he followed up.
“With Fofana, it’s a tricky situation, you want to get a young player, I think he’s going to be one of the best central defenders in the world, now to say you have to spend $100m to get him where the guy’s not even international, only play for St Etienne and Leicester, got injured last season, even if he’s been absolutely fantastic it’s difficult to say ‘okay, we’re going to spend that’.
“For the players, he plays for Leicester, he has a bright future and he knows that Koulibaly has just signed, Thiago Silva is there, Chalobah is still so where is he going to be put in that situation? Is there going to be a rotation system?
“How many games am I going to play? I don’t know if I want to take that bet, I’m not sure to play. I’m going to play for Leicester, it’s not for Chelsea, but at least I’m going to play and show to the world and maybe sign for a club that will give me a better spot than Chelsea can be able to do.”
football.london understands that nothing is advanced as of yet regarding these negotiations. Boehly had reached out personally to the player’s representatives midway through last week to get the wheels in motion on this potential transfer.
