Chelsea's next defensive target has been revealed to be Wesley Fofana from Leicester, even if Brendan Rodgers has already stated the player is not for sale.
You would be forgiven for not being too enthused by this latest chase, given the failures to secure any of Jules Kounde, Matthijs de Ligt or Nathan Ake, even if Kalidou Koulibaly has come through the door to much fanfare.
Fofana is seen as a bit of a dream target for some, given his high potential and proof of quality already in the Premier League with Leicester. At 21 and with his recovery from a serious injury going smoothly, the prospect of him further growing into one of Europe's best in years to come looks attainable.
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But Chelsea have time against them in this transfer window and know that they cannot waste many more weeks with the season officially beginning on Saturday at Goodison Park. It seems highly unlikely any new signing will be completed before 5.30 pm at Merseyside. However, it is more the case of the club they are dealing with that makes these negotiations quite dramatic.
Leicester have a good history dealing with Chelsea, selling N'Golo Kante to the Blues in 2016 for £32m, Danny Drinkwater a year later for £35m and then Ben Chilwell for £50m in 2020.
In the case of Chilwell, the Foxes held out for the best possible price on a player they knew was worthy of maximum profit. Although the wait cost Marina Granovskaia a little more, few could argue the value of Chilwell since arriving was not worth the premium.
However, that deal took its time, spanning a long pursuit for Frank Lampard's first target to improve the left-back position, Fofana might be a Thomas Tuchel favourite, but interim sporting director Todd Boehly does not have the same luxury of letting these negotiations drag and badly for Chelsea, Leicester know that too.
They do not need to sell, heightened by the fact they remain the only club in Europe's top five leagues yet to make a major signing this window, puzzling onlookers given the upward trajectory of recent years.
That does not mean a deal cannot be done, but it means if Chelsea are serious about Fofana, a high price will be required, one akin to the fee Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire in the summer of 2019. Tuchel and Boehly would hope Fofana's long-term worth would prove worthy of such an investment compared to Maguire, who struggled to ever reach the high expectation that signing brought.
There should be an internal deadline set by Chelsea on this deal, given we are now into August. Based on reports broken by The Athletic on Sunday this feels like a pretty simple scenario, either Chelsea cough up a big enough fee for Leicester to deem it too good an offer to turn down, or Boehly swiftly moves onto other targets on an ever-growing list with less time.
Leicester are under no pressure to sell Fofana, a jewel in the crown and a player who could not only be vital to their chances of getting back into Europe but will likely only increase in value across the next nine months.
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