Chelsea have agreed personal terms with defender Wesley Fofana, but still need to convince Leicester City over a transfer, journalist Ignazio Genuardi claims.
The Blues lost the services of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers this summer, and they are keen on replacing them with three top central defenders.
They have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli to bolster the heart of the defence, but are still in the transfer market for two more centre-backs before the deadline.
According to Genuardi, the Blues have an agreement in place with Fofana after missing out on Jules Kounde. However, they still need to persuade the Foxes to sanction his exit.
Our view:
Chelsea have had a disappointing transfer window by their standards. They have missed out on signing the likes of Raphinha, Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake.
There is still plenty of time left in the transfer window, and Fofana now appears as the latest transfer target.
The France international only joined the Foxes from Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2020, but has quickly transformed into one of the leading centre-backs in the Premier League.
He was absent for most of the previous campaign after a serious leg break, but showed his importance to the Foxes on his comeback in March, helping them finish in the top half.
Chelsea may have agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old, but are unlikely to get him for cheap. The Frenchman put pen-to-paper on a fresh five-year contract earlier this year.
CBS Sports’ Ben Jacobs recently claimed that it would take over £70 million to sign him, but the big question is whether the Foxes will consider his departure with the season about to begin.
The Midlands outfit are the only Premier League club yet to make a signing. They need to sell players first, but Fofana would probably be the last name that they would consider losing.
If Chelsea were to land Fofana, he would be a brilliant acquisition. He averaged an impressive 1.7 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per appearance in the recent top-flight campaign.
Fofana also made 3.7 clearances per game while winning three aerial duels. Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers recently praised him as a ‘phenomenal talent‘ and could resist his sale.
