Chelsea have ramped up their attempts to bring in Wesley Fofana as their second new centre-back of the window, but have had a bid rejected for the defender.
Thomas Tuchel has prioritised his backline as the first port of call for Todd Boehly to address after losing two senior players already with the prospect of more exiting the club this summer. Kalidou Koulibaly has already come through the door and is set to make his Premier League debut, but Tuchel is still keen to bring in at least one more fresh face.
With confusion over the lengthy pursuit of Jules Kounde, Josko Gvardiol being priced out of an early deal and Presnel Kimpembe's desire to stay in France, the Blues are still searching down their list, but key progress has been made this week as Boehly looks to sound out a price for Leicester City's Fofana.
READ MORE: Frenkie de Jong to Chelsea transfer could have big impact on six of Thomas Tuchel's players
L'Equipe state that Chelsea have had a bid worth €75million (£62.7million) rejected for Fofana. Leicester were said to have turned down the offer straight away, but the Blues are keen to come back with an increased offer and are keen to get a deal done.
football.london understands that the bold move by Boehly to put an offer on the table has swayed the player towards a big money move to London.
Whereas initially he was thought to be happy at Leicester with no immediate desire to move, the 21-year-old is now doing his part internally and externally to push for the move, though Brendan Rodgers has reiterated that he is not for sale.
It is also believed that Levi Colwill has been used in the deal as an extra incentive but complications regarding the 19-year-old have arisen as he looks set to join Brighton, going the other way in a separate deal to Marc Cucurella. This has left Leicester uncertain as to what is on the table as football.london believes that the Foxes would sell Fofana for their asking price.
Given Chelsea's offers have neared £60million and the gap to Leicester's asking price is still around £20million, as reported by Ben Jacobs, an £80million could be on the cards. That is still a long way to go for Chelsea who are hoping to include players in the deal to not only reduce their need to spend cash, but also to relieve themselves of squad players and wages for the season.
Already discussed between the clubs has been Callum Hudson-Odoi. The English winger would prefer a permanent deal, Chelsea would prefer a temporary one and Leicester are only partly interested in the player at all, indicating that there is still a long way to go for this deal to be close to completion.
The biggest bonus to keep in sight is that if Fofana was to push for a move away then he could take priority over the sales of James Maddison and Youri Tielemans, who are both attracting large money offers from Chelsea's Premier League rivals this summer. The Foxes don't want to sell any of their stars but could be forced to with financial constraints, meaning that between Chelsea, Arsenal, and Spurs, who all hold interest in various members of the trio, getting the first deal done could block out the others.
READ NEXT:
