CHELSEA have finally reached an agreement to sign Leicester star Wesley Fofana.
The Blues will pay an initial £70million fee plus hefty add-ons for the Frenchman following weeks of talks.
And the centre-back is now set to pen a six-year deal until 2028 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were ready to walk away after a third offer, totalling £70m, was rejected by Leicester on Tuesday.
But after going back in with a fourth offer with improved terms, City have buckled.
Fofana made it clear to Brendan Rodgers he was desperate to join Thomas Tuchel’s side when the first bid arrived this month.
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The France U21 star was left out of last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Southampton after claiming he wasn’t in the right state of mind to play.
And Rodgers earlier confirmed Fofana would play no part in Leicester’s match against Chelsea tomorrow.
Leicester had maintained Fofana would stay put after rejecting several offers from Chelsea.
They were holding out for a world-record fee in excess of £80m.
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But a breakthrough in talks was reached this week, with the Blues submitting an acceptable bid on Friday.
The Foxes are set to make a tasty profit on £75m Fofana, having signed him for £36.5m from Saint Etienne in 2020.
He impressed in 38 outings during his debut season at the King Power Stadium.
But a leg break limited him to just 12 outings last term.
Fofana will now battle for a spot in Chelsea’s back five, with a place on the right of Thiago Silva up for grabs.
However, his arrival also raises the possibility of Tuchel trying out a back four.
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The German previously said he needed another powerful centre-back to make the switch, with natural full-backs Cesar Azpilicueta and Marc Cucurella not suitable.
But a fresh injury blow for N’Golo Kante means Tuchel is likely to stick with his tried-and-trusted formation for now.
He explained: “I told you at the end of last season he (Kante) is our key player normally. He gives something to our team that no other player in the world can give to any other team. That makes him a key player.
“If your key player is out, it’s a situation you don’t like but have to deal with. It has huge influence.
“It’s difficult to replace him, he’s very unique. We were full of hope after pre-season because we built his pre-season very individual.
“If we build another system, I don’t know. We have trust in our players. It will maybe be the same system.
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“We played many games, unfortunately, without him in the same structure. It will be slightly different because every player is a bit different.
“That is the challenge to adapt to this, use different players differently. To change completely because N’Golo is not there, I don’t think so.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
