Chelsea get major Fofana boost from Leicester boss Rodgers
Robin Bairner
- 20 Aug 2022 09:39 CDT
- 3 min read
Chelsea have been given a boost in their pursuit of Leicester centre-back Wesley Fofana, with Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers admitting that the player is not in the squad because of transfer speculation.
Fofana has found his way to the top of the Stamford Bridge shortlist this summer, with Thomas Tuchel’s side desperate to find defensive reinforcements after losing Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Malang Sarr over the summer.
FootballTransfers understands that Chelsea are “obsessed” with the idea of signing Fofana, although Leicester are set to do everything in their power to retain the former Saint-Etienne player.
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Nevertheless, it promises to be a major challenge, with the youngster having had his head turned by interest.
Fofana was notably left out of squad to face Southampton in the Premier League, with Rodgers admitting that the noise over the player’s future has affected his mentality.
“Wesley Fofana is out of the squad because he wasn't in right frame of mind to be involved today,” the former Liverpool boss said.
Leicester still in a strong position
Although Fofana’s mind may have wandered, Leicester remain in a strong position in this transfer saga because the player has a contract that runs until 2027.
The Foxes can therefore dictate the type of price that Chelsea must pay for the player. And the Blues are set to be forced to stump up big money if a deal is to be done. Indeed, FootballTransfer understands that it could be a world record fee for a defender that they require to pay.
Fofana’s value is estimated at €35 million by FootballTransfers, partly because he missed the vast majority of the 2021/22 season because of serious injury. Prior to that, his value had been on a steep upward trajectory, and if Chelsea choose to pay big money for him this summer, it will be because they believe he will soon get back to that level of form.
