Chelsea eyeing £75 million last-minute transfer swoop for Leicester City duo: Reports
Chelsea are reportedly interested in acquiring the services of Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy and centre-back Wesley Fofana to bolster their squad in the ongoing transfer window.
The Blues are currently in the market for an attacker and a defender after the departures of Romelu Lukaku on loan to Inter Milan, and Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, on free transfers.
Other senior players like Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso are also seemingly on their way out of Stamford Bridge this summer.
According to Give Me Sport journalist Dean Jones, the west London outfit are monitoring the situation of Vardy. Speaking to the Chasing Green Arrows YouTube channel (via Football London), he said:
"I've heard from someone that Jamie Vardy might be on Chelsea's list as a last-minute backup striker. It wasn’t the greatest source in the world, but I was like... that's a weird one to just make up. That's got to have some sort of substance."
🏹 Jamie Vardy has finished four of the last seven Premier League campaigns with the best conversion rate in the division. Ruthless. https://t.co/3d1ccszlSk
Vardy, who is in the final year of his contract at the King Power Stadium, has been a core part of Leicester City's squad for a decade. The 35-year-old, who scored 15 league goals last season, has registered 133 goals and 45 assists in 270 Premier League appearances for the Foxes.
As per Football London, new Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehley made contact with Fofana's representatives earlier this week. The report also added that Leicester City value the defender at £70 million and the Blues are considering a a £75 million double swoop for him and Vardy.
Fofana, who joined the Foxes from Saint-Etienne for a fee of £36.5 million, has made 50 appearances across all competitions since his arrival in the summer of 2020. The 21-year-old, who is a France U21 international, has helped his club register 17 clean sheets in the process.
🦊 Despite making his Premier League debut at 19, Wesley Fofana is yet to make an error directly leading to an opposition goal across his 35 appearances in the competition https://t.co/li6fjCRS30
So far, Chelsea have announced the signings of Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.
Chelsea's Timo Werner on his way out
As per Cadena Ser (via Managing Madrid), the Blues have offered out-of-favour striker Timo Werner to Real Madrid. The Premier League club are open to offers in the region of £29.4 million for the 26-year-old forward.
Werner, who has three years left on his current deal, has failed to live up to expectations since his arrival at Stamford Bridge two years ago. Since joining from RB Leipzig for £47.5 million, he has contributed just 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 appearances across all competitions.