Chelsea are reportedly keen on adding Leicester defender Wesley Fofana to their ranks for the new season, but a top journalist says that is looking less likely by the day.
21-year-old Fofana joined Leicester from St Etienne in 2020 for a fee reported to be around the £36m mark, and he had a solid first season in England. He made 28 Premier League outings and was awarded the Leicester City Young Player of the Year accolade by the club’s supporters. Sadly, he broke his leg in a pre-season friendly last summer, returning in March.
His return was quite something; he scored in the Conference League game against Stade Rennais, which secured the Foxes’ passage to the next round. He ended the season with 12 appearances under his belt and had quickly regained the form many feared he might lose due to his injury.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Foxes’ boss Brendan Rogers has slapped a not-for-sale notice on his young defender, who he sees as an integral part of their ongoing success. That won’t deter the Blues, keen to strengthen their ranks under new owner Todd Boehly. They’re going back to negotiate in the week leading up to the big kick-off, but a deal looks less likely by the hour, according to football’s primary football source over the summer window.
The summer is often the time of outlandish rumours, which might make the Fofana news less important, were it not for the source. It’s widely accepted that Fabrizio Romano is one of the primary sources of good information fans can trust; he’s known not only for having his finger on the pulse but also for his catchphrase ‘here we go’ as a deal nears completion. Of course, Chelsea fans will be hoping they hear that regarding Fofana, but it seems likely they’ll need to switch their attention elsewhere.
Josko Gvardiol is another Romano has mentioned as being a target. The RB Leipzig defender will also not be prised away from his team easily; like Fofana, he is seen as a bright young prospect. The 20-year-old is valued at around £80m, and with ten Croatia caps to his name already, he looks to be another exciting young prospect. In an ideal world, Thomas Tuchel would add him and Fofana to his ranks; in the real world, he could miss out on both.
Where would that leave the Blues? They had been linked with Gleison Bremer, but he recently chose to move to Juventus to replace Matthijs de Ligt, so any move is off the table. De Ligt was also a Chelsea target, but he opted for Bayern Munich, meaning more disappointment for Chelsea. With Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leaving for Spain, two centre-backs were top of Tuchel’s shopping list. Kalidou Koulibaly, the 31-year-old Senegalese player, put pen to paper on a deal earlier in the summer, but the younger, long-term prospect still eludes Tuchel.
It’s less likely that Fofana or Gvardiol will be the player to join Koulibaly at Stamford Bridge, which could cause Tuchel a major headache in the coming season.
