“At the very top of my list but no doubt they’ll say £100M” – Chelsea fans name centre-back they want club to sign after missing out on Jules Kounde
Chelsea fans have named Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana as an alternative transfer target after the club is reportedly set to miss out on Jules Kounde.
Kounde, 23, is expected to join Barcelona, with the Catalan giants reportedly hijacking the Blues' move for the Sevilla defender.
It's a blow to Thomas Tuchel's side as they had seemingly eyed the France international for a while as one of the replacements for Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger. The duo left Stamford Bridge this summer as free agents, joining Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
Chelsea have signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for £34.2 million as one of the duo's replacements.
Tuchel will potentially now have to consider alternatives to Kounde and it appears some Blues fans are desiring a move for Leicester City's Fofana.
The 21-year-old has been hugely impressive since joining Leicester from Saint-Etienne back in 2020.
He has made 49 appearances for the Foxes, playing a key role in the side's FA Cup success in 2021.
Incidentally, it was Chelsea that Leicester beat 1-0 in the FA Cup final that season. The young Frenchman gave yet another eye-catching performance to help Leicester win their first FA Cup.
Fofana has five years left on his current deal at the King Power Stadium but could be on the move with his stock continuing to grow.
Here are some tweets from Blues fans expressing their desire for the side to pursue Fofana:
Fofana is probably at the very top of my list but no doubt they’ll say £100M twitter.com/sianddantalkcf…
I know I'm not the only one who thinks Fofana is a better fit for Chelsea than Koundè https://t.co/lmyxcPNjEu
Chelsea Football Club 📈
Fofana: will slot into that RCB spot with ease, Great on the ball, physical and fast, can even play in back a 4.
Bowen: an addition to the RW position, if Hudson odoi can start the season running, than those two can create great problems for Tuchel. https://t.co/mswqizNPFz
Would love Wesley Fofana at my club https://t.co/YWUZF04Wqr
#LCFC
Chelsea better should go big on Wesley Fofana despite Leicester reluctancy to sell him. Remember if they were to sell Youri Tielemans, they won't make another big sell as they'll stick to their "sell only 1 big player in 1 season" rule.
Also Skriniar to CFC would be tough. twitter.com/FabrizioRomano…
Only alternative and even better option to Kounde. Wesley Fofana. Break the bank @Dannythefink @todd_boehly @ChelseaFC https://t.co/cpGawabPfl
Chelsea could find problems negotiating with Leicester City over Wesley Fofana
Chelsea may have to prepare for a real tussle if they do target Wesley Fofana as Leicester City are renowned for playing hardball in the transfer market. One only needs to look at their negotiations with Manchester United over Harry Maguire in 2019 to find an example.
The English centre-back had then attracted interest from both Manchester United and Manchester City (as per SportsMole). The Red Devils were the side willing to meet the Foxes' £80 million price tag and it's fair to say that Leicester pulled off somewhat of a coup in the sale.
Leicester didn't miss the services of Maguire either as they saw the likes of Wesley Fofana and Caglar Soyuncu come in as replacements.
Fofana is certainly making waves in the Premier League with each eye-catching performance and if Chelsea do want the Frenchman, they may need to act soon.
Transfermarkt values the centre-back at £36 million, but as alluded to, the Blues can expect to pay way over that.