Chelsea have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Wesley Fofana with Leicester City now ready to sell the defender, according to reports.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have been in talks with the Foxes for weeks over the prospect of signing the France international, but have had no success as of yet following two rejected bids.
Both offers have been less than £70 million which is below Leicester’s valuation of in excess of £80 million.
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Chelsea are claimed to have agreed personal terms with Fofana, which could see him earn more than £200,000-a-week if he made the transfer to Stamford Bridge this summer.
Fofana was left out of their squad that lost to Southampton at the weekend in the Premier League due to the centre-back not being in the right frame of mind to play the game amid interest from Chelsea.
With less than two weeks to go until the summer transfer window closes, Chelsea are eager to bring in Fofana to bolster Tuchel’s defence and they have received a welcome boost after Leicester’s change of stance.
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As reported by Ben Jacobs, Leicester are now prepared to sell Fofana. They have softened their stance following meetings between the defender and Brendan Rodgers.
The next offer for Fofana is not expected to reach £85 million, which Leicester are holding out for - a world-record fee for a defender -, but there is a 'real feeling' a bid shy of £80 million, with preferable structure, could be accepted.
Chelsea are optimistic of making progress this week prior to playing Leicester in the capital on Saturday afternoon.
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Fofana is keen on making the move this summer and Rodgers, following the defeat to Southampton, couldn’t guarantee if he would still be here come the end of the window.
The Leicester City boss admitted that if it’s a win-win piece of business for the club, they may be inclined to allow for a departure.
As quoted by the Leicester Mercury, he said: “It all depends on the player,” Rodgers said. “You can’t always say for definite how it’s going to be. For some players when the window shuts it’s a good moment because they can totally focus on playing again and getting on with their careers. Some players may feel they have lost the opportunity of a dream. They may just never be the same, so that’s always the danger.
“It certainly wasn’t right for him to play (on Saturday) after everything over the course of the week, so we have a look at it and we’ll see where we’re at for next week.
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“He has been in the club. He has missed a training session, but he’s been back in. He’s a young guy who’s very well liked within the squad and of course we brought him here because he was a huge talent. The club have invested in him and in his time here he’s been absolutely brilliant.
“But you have to set a standard of behaviour and if it’s not quite right and your focus isn’t right, that only hurts your team-mates. I will always make that decision. If something’s not right – no matter who the player is – he has to come out for the greater good of the team and the club. So we’ll see how it goes forward.”
He added: “The reality for a club like ours is you can’t be afraid to do that (sell) as long as it’s good business for the club, and if it’s good for the player it’s normally a win-win situation. But that decision then will be ultimately down to the feeling of the club.
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“But that’s the huge challenge. If you do it last minute, then you’re really in danger. Already our squad is weaker than last season. We don’t have Ademola Lookman here and he was fantastic for us. You look at Ricardo Pereira not here.
“So as time goes on of course if you lose one of your best players and you can’t replace them with the quality, then it doesn’t make sense."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Wesley Fofana, Chelsea, Leicester City, Brendan Rodgers, Premier League, Football, Thomas Tuchel
