Chelsea to step up efforts to sign Wesley Fofana from Leicester City this week as Barcelona raise Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang price

Chelsea are set to ‘step up their efforts’ to sign Wesley Fofana from Leicester City as Barcelona raise their asking price for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to reports.

The Blues have been one of the busiest clubs in the market this summer with Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella all joining so far.

One of Chelsea’s key areas to improve on has been their defence, but they have missed out on the likes of Matthijs de Ligt and Jules Kounde.

However, Fofana has emerged as a target for the west London side in recent weeks as they look to sign another centre-back alongside Koulibaly.

They have agreed personal terms with the Frenchman, who is at the start of his third season at Leicester.

According to the Times, Thomas Tuchel’s side will ‘step up their efforts’ to acquire the 21-year-old defender from the Foxes this summer.

Chelsea have already had two bids for the centre-back rejected, with the most recent one said to be more than £70 million.

A move could see the Blues pay a world record fee for a player in that position, with Brendan Rodgers’ side looking for more than £80 million for their man.

However, previous reports have suggested that Chelsea do not want to make Fofana the world’s most expensive centre-back as a result of the criticism Harry Maguire has faced since his move from Leicester to Manchester United in 2019.

Whilst the club continue to work on improving their defence this summer, they are also keen on signing additions for their attack.

Former Arsenal striker Aubameyang has emerged as a target for Chelsea over the last week or so, having seen Timo Werner depart in a move that saw him return to RB Leipzig.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that Barcelona have asked for ‘around €30 million’ for the 33-year-old this weekend.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a target for Chelsea this summer. (Alamy)

Chelsea want to spend much less than this fee for the player and Xavi wants to keep him, although Tuchel is still pushing for him as a priority.

The German boss was angered at some of the decisions made during his side’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening.

Both of Spurs’ goals saw fouls on Chelsea players in the buildup, with the refereeing decisions from Anthony Taylor proving to be controversial.

After the match, Tuchel spoke on whether or not Taylor shouldn’t referee their matches going forward: “Maybe it would be better. Maybe it would be better. But honestly, we also have VAR to help make the right decision. 

“Since when can players be pulled by hair? Since when is that (not a foul)? If he does not see it, I do not blame him. I didn’t see it. But we have people at VAR who check this. Then you see it and how can this not be a free-kick and a red card? 

“This doesn’t even had to do with the referee in this case. If he does not see something, that’s why we have people to check if there is a decisive error going on.”