"£20m apart in initial valuation" - Journalist shares details of Chelsea's 'challenging negotiation' to sign Premier League star
Chelsea's initial bid for Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana is £20 million short of the Foxes' valuation, reports CBS Sports Golazo journalist Ben Jacobs.
The Blues are set to hold "further talks" with the East Midlands-based club and are willing to increase their original valuation for the Frenchman.
Bit more intel on Fofana. Chelsea and Leicester close to £20m apart in initial valuation. #CFC are prepared to go up. Further talks this week. PSG have also enquired. They value Fofana at just under £55m all-in. Won't be enough or even close.
The Blues have been considering Fofana as a long-term centre-back option since the previous summer transfer window. At the time, the London-based club were willing to bid £45 million plus add-ons for the French defender.
However, Fofana signed a contract extension with Leicester in March, keeping the 21-year-old at the club until the summer of 2027. This has led to a hike in the Foxes' asking price for the centre-half.
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have also enquired about Fofana, valuing him at a little under £55 million. However, according to Jacobs, this valuation won't be good enough for the deal.
Fofana joined Leicester City in 2020 from Saint-Etienne. He's played 50 matches for the Foxes so far and also contributed one goal and one assist.
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers insists that the 21-year-old is "not for sale." He said (via Metro):
"He’s not for sale. He’s very happy here. Naturally he will attract the interest of other clubs. Our job, in not signing anyone so far, is to at least keep the players we have. I know that’s the intention of the club."
According to Jacobs, when Fofana signed an extension with the Foxes, he was told that Leicester City would listen to 'fair' offers in 2023. Leicester would prefer to sell the France international in the summer of 2023 rather than in the current window.
However, the Blues are still pursuing the signing of the French centre-half.
Chelsea block bid for defender Malang Sarr
Chelsea FC have run interference by blocking a bid from Fulham for defender Malang Sarr, according to Standard Sport journalist Nizaar Kinsella.
Fulham's bid for Malang Sarr has been blocked so far because Chelsea need to sign defenders themselves: standard.co.uk/sport/football… #CFC
The Blues have prevented an attempt by their London rivals to sign the 23-year-old because they first need to find a replacement.
The outgoings of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger this summer have left Chelsea's defense depleted. Blues boss Thomas Tuchel faces further dilemna with the potential departures of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso (via Football365).
The west London side have had an unfortunate transfer window so far, with the failure to sign Tuchel's targets Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt.