Chelsea and Leicester City have a verbal agreement for the transfer of Wesley Fofana in what could be a record sum for a central defender.
According to Fabrice Hawkins, there is a verbal agreement between Chelsea and Leicester City for the transfer of Wesley Fofana. The French journalist claims the final fee could be a world record, which indicates more money than Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire a few years ago.
The Wesley Fofana transfer saga could conclude before the summer transfer window shuts down, as Chelsea and Leicester City may have the understanding to complete the transfer in the nick of time. The Blues were left surprised in the market early on when they could not secure their primary targets before making the Frenchman their priority target.
For instance, they wanted Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt as priority targets. Instead, they saw both players choose different clubs in Barcelona and Bayern Munich, respectively, forcing Chelsea to pursue Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly.
The latter has already joined the Blues, but Chelsea have found it rather difficult to break down Leicester City’s will for Fofana. The Foxes rejected a series of bids from the west London giants as they continued to demand a world record sum for the 21-year-old Frenchman.
?? Info @RMCsport Accord verbal entre Chelsea et Leicester pour le transfert de Wesley Fofana !
Les deux clubs sont en passe de conclure le transfert. Un accord a été trouvé autour d'une somme record pour un défenseur de 21 ans ?? pic.twitter.com/uZTLqTSbdD
— Fabrice Hawkins (@FabriceHawkins) August 26, 2022
Having watched Chelsea pay over the odds for Marc Cucurella, Leicester remained hopeful of extracting top dollar for their prized asset. Fofana has been pushing for a move and was frustrated as the Foxes rejected multiple bids.
The latest stories suggested Chelsea were preparing a new £75 million bid for Fofana and hoped to agree on terms with the Foxes. They certainly have a verbal agreement with Leicester as things stand, but the fee could be much higher than what Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire a few years ago.
Fabrice Hawkins reckons the move could be a world-record sum for a central defender, as Chelsea are set to complete a massive transfer for their priority target. Leicester will take the money at this stage after seeing the player was unhappy with how things have gone so far.
The move will represent a significant coup for the Blues, which should complete their defensive lineup for the season. Fofana’s arrival could allow Trevoh Chalobah to depart after Thomas Tuchel blocked a move for the defender.
Chelsea could then focus on attacking reinforcement, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang expected to arrive from Barcelona, although no fee has been agreed yet. There could also be room for a central midfielder if time permits, as Tuchel seeks quality reinforcements to make his squad capable of competing on multiple fronts this season.
