Chelsea Are Ready to Meet Leicester City’s Demands for Defender

After signing Brighton’s Marc Cucurella for a fee that could rise to £62m, a record fee for a left-back, Chelsea are working on their next mega deal in the form of Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana.

The Blues have been on the hunt for a new centre-back since before the window opened and must be thankful that veteran, Cesar Azpilicueta, signed a new two-year deal but work must still be done to replace the departed Andreas Christensen.

"Cesar Azpilicueta has committed his future to Chelsea by extending his Blues contract until 2024.The Chelsea captain has added another two years to his west London stay, thwarting Barcelona’s long-running pursuit of the 32-year-old. (Via: skysports.com)"

Added to the work in the summer, Chelsea have acquired the defensive asset, Kalidou Koulibaly, from Napoli for £33m last month, July. Now they turn their attention to a player, that despite missing the majority of last season through a horrid leg break, will come at a hefty asking price.

Leicester City, who are by no means eager to part ways with their star centre-back Fofana, will be tempted into a deal for the right price, that price said to be £85m. Furthermore, reports suggest Thomas Tuchel’s recruitment team are ready to oblige the Foxes asking price.

The Guardian‘s Jacob Steinberg tweeted about Chelsea’s current transfer situation:

"Chelsea are willing to go to £85m for Fofana and believe that would be enough to get him. Would take their spending over £200m and could be more beyond that (FDJ, Casadei, Auba targeted). So are they going to be able to make anything back on sales?(via: @JacobSteinberg)"

Todd Boehly Is Really Flexing in His First Summer in Charge of Transfers at Chelsea

The new owner at Stamford Bridge comes into the summer market like one of those people who are always fashionably late to an event; they come last but make the most noise.

If they are to go through with the Fofana deal, they would have spent £180m just on defenders while not forgetting that they lost two of their main centre-backs to two of Europe’s giants for free.

Also… If you include the Raheem Sterling transfer from Manchester City for £47,5m, that’s a £227,5m summer tally for Chelsea and Todd Boehly. In the early days already, it was openly said that the American wanted to make a statement in the transfer market and back Tuchel.

Are the Blues Wrong to Pursuit for £85M?

Fofana is probably worth every penny. When he was announced out for the first half of the season for Leicester last year, it was truly only downhill from there for the club and Brendan Rodgers. It was a massive blow following a stellar debut season where he received the Foxes Young Player of the Year.

Also, why the East Midlands club is demanding such a huge transfer fee of £85 million, is because the Frenchman still has five years left on his current deal with them, having just signed a two-year contract extension back in March this year.

If This Does Go Through for Chelsea:

• The Blues would have signed the most expensive left-back in history for £62m, Marc Cucurella from Brighton;
• Since 2020, they have spent £110m on left-backs, having signed Ben Chilwell for £50m from the same club;
• They would have made the most expensive defender signing, surpassing Manchester United’s addition of Harry Maguire for £80m;
• Chelsea are on the same road as Manchester City, who are guilty of spending half a billion on defenders.

Update on Fofana as per Fabrizio Romano:

"Chelsea have submitted a fresh proposal for Wesley Fofana on Friday in excess of £70m. Leicester have turned down the proposal, Rodgers also insists he’s not for sale. #CFC …but Chelsea are determined to try again for Fofana. The player would be 100% keen on the move."

The London club are far from done in the market with Boehly determine to spend over £300m before the window closes. A deal for Frenkie de Jong is said to be a priority for them after the player made it clear he does not want to join Manchester United.