By Victor Kanayo
With week two matches up in the English Premier League this weekend, Chelsea have agreed personal terms with Wesley Fofana as they continue work on a deal to land the Leicester defender.
Chelsea have had two bids of £60m and £65m rejected for centre-back Fofana. Leicester’s original stance was that the 21 year-old was not for sale.
Leicester value Fofana in excess of £80m and, despite their initial hope of hanging on to him for at least one more season, there is a growing sense that they will sell for the right price.
Fofana, who signed a new five-year Leicester deal in March, is keen to make the move Chelsea and in line for a significant pay rise to around £200,000-per-week if the two clubs can find a compromise over his transfer fee.
Kalidou Koulibaly has arrived for £34m from Napoli and a new contract for captain Cesar Azpilicueta plus the capture of Marc Cucurella from
Brighton for up to £62m have given manager Thomas Tuchel two, versatile options who can perform in a back three. But he remains keen to bring in one more out-and-out centre back.
The likes of Nathan Ake, Matthijs de Ligt, Jules Kounde and Presnel Kimpembe have proved out of reach for Chelsea.
Meanwhile Chelsea have also had talks with Josko Gvardiol’s representative Marjan Šišić but RB Leipzig are determined to hang onto the highly-rated Croatian who has also attracted interest this summer from Manchester City and Tottenham.
