Chelsea have first Wesley Fofana transfer bid of £63m rejected by Leicester despite huge financial problems

CHELSEA have had an opening offer for Wesley Fofana rejected by Leicester City despite a crippling financial situation at the club, reports suggest.

Fofana, 21, is one of Chelsea’s targets in central defence this transfer window with the club needing to replace the losses of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Thomas Tuchel is keen to recruit Fofana and new owner Todd Boehly – who is also operating as the club’s interim director of football – has ramped up The Blues’ interest in recent weeks.

This has resulted in an opening bid for Fofana in the region of £63million.

But L’Equipe report this opening bid has been rejected.

Leicester are understood to be demanding a fee of at least £84million.

Chelsea are reluctant to match such a large fee for the Frenchman, but are willing to offer him a handsome £200,000 per week.

However, the precarious financial situation of Leicester could tip the balance of power in procuring Fofana more into their hands.

A report from The Times indicates a post-Covid hangover and lack of big-money sales have left The Foxes unable to invest in the first team this summer.

This has left Leicester in the unique position of being the only side to have not made a single signing despite the Premier League kicking off in a matter of days.

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And Fofana is not the only player courting interest at the King Power Stadium, with James Maddison also the subject of a major bid from Newcastle.

Likewise, Youri Tielemans has been linked with a move to Arsenal, with The Gunners yet to submit a formal bid.

Manager Brendan Rodgers has grown concerned over the futures of a number of integral stars within his squad, but he cannot recruit replacements until there are sales.

He has also now lost the services of veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel after he completed a shock move to Nice after a decade of service at the club, including a Premier League and FA Cup title.

While Fofana remains a priority target for Chelsea, they have also been in talks with Brighton to sign Man City target Marc Cucurella.

Reports suggested an agreement had been reached between the two clubs before The Seagulls issued a statement late last night denying this claim.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk