Here are your latest football.london Chelsea headlines on Friday, July 29.
Chelsea agree Wesley Fofana personal terms
Since shifting their attention away from Barcelona-bound Jules Kounde, Leicester defender Wesley Fofana has come into the fray. And despite the extortionate £70million plus asking price that the Foxes have placed on the 21-year-old, football.london understands that new owner Todd Boehly has opened talks with the player's representatives on Wednesday.
Amid the difficult task Chelsea have ahead in trying to convince the East Midlands to let go of the Frenchman before the September deadline, they have taken a significant step towards making their third signing this summer.
This is because according to Ignazio Genuardi via Sport Witness, the Blues "already have an agreement" with the player's representatives. Whether they can tempt Leicester into a sale remains another story with it being understood that the defender himself will not force a move as it stands meaning no transfer request is imminent which is a blow to the west London outfit.
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Jules Kounde 'upset' with Chelsea
Kounde is very close to having his move to Barcelona announced but how on earth did we get to this point?
Last summer, it was revealed that the 23-year-old's dream was to move to the Premier League and at the time, he was highly keen on the prospect of playing at Stamford Bridge.
However, fast forward to now and a change in the clubs direction followed by a change in heart of Thomas Tuchel were the factors that put the Sevilla star off becoming a blue. This is according to The Athletic who have reported that Tuchel's preference to try and sign de Ligt first 'upset' Kounde and once Xavi's call came in, his head was full turned at that point.
More sources have indicated that the German boss never really wanted the La Liga star and it was in fact Marina Granovskaia and certain members of the past regime that pushed for the centre-half to be signed.
Frenkie de Jong 'open' to Chelsea move
Frenkie de Jong has reiterated his desire to stay put at Barcelona this summer but the Man United target is apparently open to a Chelsea transfer if he is forced to move on amid financial worries for the Spanish club.
The former Ajax midfielder has been linked away all summer with an exit as Barca's need to move on the 25-year-old is great to comply with La Liga financial regulations. However, with the Catalan giants are still in debt to De Jong over deferred wages, it seems as though the player won't consider an exit unless he's given what he is owed by his current side.
Despite not being paid his full wages due to financial woes, Barca have been able to to sign the likes of Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie on free transfers but more importantly spend big cash on the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and soon-to-be the newest recruit Jules Kounde. Moves to free up funds by selling off rights to future TV deals have helped in funding this spending spree but still, the midfielder is owed a vast amount of money over the remainder of his deal at the club.
That itself has come into his decision-making on his future so far this summer but it is understood that he is ready to turn down a move to the Premier League. But as Barca continue to put pressure internally on De Jong to move on, it seems as though the player is standing firm.
This is because as per The Daily Mirror, the Dutch international has told teammates that he has no intentions of leaving this summer after joining up with the club's US pre-season tour of Florida.
Read the full story here.
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