Leicester City Respond To Chelsea's Interest In Wesley Fofana As Barcelona Close In On Jules Kounde

Chelsea are on the search for a Jules Kounde alternative and are interested in Wesley Fofana but Leicester City insist the £85 million-rated defender is not for sale, according to reports.

This summer transfer window Thomas Tuchel’s side have been on the search for defenders to bolster their backline for the upcoming season. 

Kalidou Koulibaly has been acquired from Napoli in a move worth £34 million that was completed earlier this month.

However, Chelsea still need to strengthen further, they have lost both Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers meaning there are gaps that need to be filled.

Wesley Fofana #3 of Leicester City waves to the supporters. (Alamy)

It has been revealed that Tuchel wants another four signings this summer, with defensive minded players most likely to be the priority. 

The Blues displayed interest in Matthijs de Ligt and Nathan Ake earlier in the window, but those moves fell through, with the former joining Bayern Munich. 

Most recently, the pursuit for Kounde looks to have failed. The west London side believed they had won the race for the France international, but Barcelona swooped in and are now the preferred destination for the Sevilla defender.

This has left Chelsea in a position where they have had to turn their attention to other options. 

Chelsea are eyeing a move for Milan Skriniar and are monitoring PSG’s Presnel Kimpembe but he is reported to be wanting to stay in Paris this summer.

Wesley Fofana has emerged as one of the Blues favoured choices, and they are planning to make a move for the 21-year-old. 

Leicester only signed Fofana two years ago for £31.5 million from St Etienne, but for the majority of last season he was sidelined after he suffered a broken leg.

Unfortunately for the Blues, the Daily Mail reports that the Foxes have no plans to consider bids for the promising defender amid the interest from Chelsea.

What makes this even more challenging for the west London side is that Fofana recently agreed to a new deal that would see him stay with Brendan Rodgers team until 2027. 

Leicester City's Wesley Fofana celebrates scoring their third goal against Hull City in pre-season. (Alamy)

This factor majorly boosts the price that Chelsea would be forced to pay. Claims from the Guardian suggest a minimum fee of £70 million would be demanded, going as high as £85 million.

Just two years ago, the Blues forked out £50 million to acquire left-back Ben Chilwell from Leicester and the year before that Manchester United paid £80 million for Harry Maguire.

With the new season just over a week away from beginning, Tuchel is desperate to acquire at least one more central defender and the options are narrowing. 

While Fofana could be the answer, just how much cash would the Blues be willing to splash on the Frenchman in order for Leicester to be remotely convinced of parting ways with the defender remains to be seen.