Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana hands in transfer request
By Will Kennedy
What changes now?
In all honesty, very little. Fofana’s desire of Chelsea is already public knowledge and a transfer request is unsurprising given that he deleted the club from his social media bios a few weeks ago. Still, he has started both of Leicester’s Premier League games this season and Rodgers clearly trusts that he won’t do a William Gallas.
As for Chelsea, they know the situation: Fofana wants the move, and the Foxes want £85m. They can try to haggle for £70m, but they risk costing themselves valuable time and money to get to the same end result: £85m. Time will tell as to when a third bid comes in, but it is past the point of inevitable now. This is what The Guardian have reported:
"They [Chelsea] are aware it could take at least £85m to convince Leicester to sell. Sources have indicated Chelsea will eventually meet Leicester’s asking price."
If the Foxes do receive and accept £85m for him, it would make him the most expensive defender is the history of football – eclipsing the £80m that Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire in 2019. Whilst Maguire’s transfer has been widely criticised, I don’t think the same will be said about Fofana.
Whilst he isn’t currently the best defender in the world, he will be. If fit, it will be an outrage if he isn’t selected in France’s squad for the upcoming World Cup. Fofana believes that a move to Chelsea will secure his spot in Qatar, though he will surely be on the plane regardless of a transfer.
If they can prize him away, Chelsea will have secured their starting centre-back for at least the next decade, if not 15 years. If he can achieve his potential, that £85m will look exactly the right amount, if not a bargain.