Chelsea eye third Wesley Fofana bid as Blues scramble to raise transfer funds through player sales

Nizaar Kinsella9 August 2022

Chelsea are expected to make a third offer for Leicester’s Wesley Fofana this week despite seeing a £70million bid rejected as they raise funds for further signings.

The Blues believe that the 21-year-old is the last chance to sign a defender who matches both the quality and profile needed to take Thomas Tuchel's side to the next level.

However, they are reluctant to make him the world's most expensive central defender having seen the criticism faced by Manchester United's Harry Maguire, who currently holds that title after costing £80m from Leicester in 2019.

Fofana is keen to force a move through but the Foxes are reluctant to lose their star defender so late in the transfer window with a replacement needed. They will continue to play Fofana and insist that he is not for sale until an exceptional offer comes in.

Chelsea are trying to offload fringe players to help raise funds for further business after being offered Frenkie de Jong, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay by Barcelona.

Chelsea are set to return with a third bid for Leicester centre-back Wesley Fofana
Getty Images

De Jong is in the middle of a bitter dispute with Barcelona over wages with £17m in deferred payments still owed to the midfielder.

Tuchel likes De Jong and is open to exploiting any issues to secure a quality player. It would see them hijack Manchester United's approach after they've spent all summer failing to convince him to move to Old Trafford, due in part to a lack of Champions League football.

Barcelona are keen to see De Jong leave to raise further funds due to lingering financial issues but convincing the player to leave Camp Nou or accept lower terms remains difficult.

Chelsea are also interested in a right wing-back, with Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries the preferred option over Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters.

Timo Werner is having his medical today after the paperwork was signed on a £25m return to RB Leipzig. Marcos Alonso has also agreed a two-year contract with Barcelona over an £8m move, with the west London side needing to generate funds after spending more than £165m on new players already in this window.

Malang Sarr is set to join Monaco in a £600,000 loan move with an obligation to buy based on appearances set at £10m. Kepa Arrizabalaga continues to talk to Napoli over a loan move but negotiations about the goalkeeper's wages could see it collapse as the Italian giants explore a move for Keylor Navas from Paris Saint-Germain instead.

Callum Hudson-Odoi has loan interest from Borussia Dortmund and Southampton, with Hakim Ziyech, Ross Barkley, Billy Gilmour, Kenedy, Emerson Palmieri, Michy Batshuayi, Baba Rahman and Ethan Ampadu all potentially planning their exits.

Nottingham Forest have enquired about Emerson's availability after their £9m move for Real Betis left-back Alex Moreno collapsed. Meanwhile, Juventus are still interested in the Italy international depending on the status of their own full-back Alex Sandro.

Ampadu has a loan offer from Serie A side Empoli but the Blues won't sanction his exit until a major central defensive signing comes in. Chelsea have also opened talks with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy over a contract renewal in the past week but aren't close to agreeing a new deal.

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