Chelsea are prepared to make a bid of around £85 million for Wesley Fofana amid Leicester City’s recent interest in Callum Hudson-Odoi, according to reports.
Fofana has emerged as a key target for the Blues this summer, having previously missed out on the signings of Matthijs de Ligt and Jules Kounde.
Kalidou Koulibaly is the only centre-back that Thomas Tuchel’s side have signed so far, with the Senegal international making his competitive debut in the win against Everton on Saturday evening.
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Despite Chelsea’s interest in the 21-year-old, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has insisted that the Frenchman is not for sale this summer, with the Blues already having two bids rejected.
However, it appears as though they could be ready to make another offer to the Foxes before the end of the window, with the Guardian reporting that they ‘are willing’ to make a bid of £85 million for the defender.
Fofana recently spoke on his ambitions for the future: “I want to not only win trophies but try to be the best defender in my position in the world.”
He is also said to be a fan of Koulibaly, the 31-year-old who signed for Chelsea from Napoli earlier in the summer.
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While the Blues attempt to secure the centre-back, one of their own players could be heading the other way and featuring at the King Power Stadium next season.
As per the aforementioned report, Hudson-Odoi has asked to leave Chelsea on a loan deal.
Leicester are believed to be one of the sides interested in signing the 21-year-old winger, with Southampton also keen on the player.
Previous attempts have been made by other clubs to sign Hudson-Odoi including German giants Bayern Munich and more recently, Borussia Dortmund, who were interested in a loan deal.
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Chelsea have not yet made any indications as to whether or not they will use one of their academy products in negotiations for Fofana, whose youth is needed in the backline this season.
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After the win against Everton, in which Jorginho’s penalty was the only goal of the game, Tuchel made an admission on the ages of his starting centre-backs, all of whom are over the age of 30.
He said: “All three of our players in the back three are in their thirties and we struggled a bit in general at the end of the game.
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“We need to improve our physical level and we are on it.
“Thiago is a key player in the middle of the defence right now, but we need to move more on the ball, to invest more with runs.”
Thiago Silva, Koulibaly and Cesar Azpilicueta all started against the Toffees and despite a couple of them struggling towards the end, the trio were able to keep a clean sheet.
There is still time for the club to make signings before the window shuts, and Fofana could well be Chelsea’s next arrival.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Chelsea, Wesley Fofana, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Leicester City