Jamie Redknapp has labelled both Arsenal's William Saliba and Chelsea target Wesley Fofana as 'classy' Premier league defenders and has in the process told Todd Boehly exactly why to meet Leicester City's £80million transfer demand.
There was a certain point in the summer where many thought Saliba could be sold to Marseille but the £42m valued central defender (according to the CIES Football Observatory) decided to stay put and not push for a move away. What a decision that was.
The former Marseille loanee - despite netting an own goal in the 4-2 Leicester win - produced two outstanding performances against Crystal Palace and most recently AFC Bournemouth, which was capped off by a wonder goal on the South Coast against the Cherries. His performances so far have already warranted a catchy Arsenal chant being made from the supporters.
READ MORE: Wesley Fofana makes his Leicester feelings clear with James Maddison reaction amid Chelsea plea
Come September 1, Saliba may not only be the only former Saint Etienne graduate at a big London club. This is because, as well as Kurt Zouma who trod the same path and is playing for West Ham, Fofana could soon become a Chelsea player.
football.london understands that Todd Boehly has had two bids of around £60m and £70m knocked back by the Foxes. As a result of not being happy with the club's decision, Manager Brendan Rodgers decided to keep him out of the squad for the Southampton game. A move that backfired badly as Che Adams took advantage of a rather makeshift backline in game week 3 as saints won 2-1 at the King Power Stadium.
"One, a change in system," he said pre-match via Football Daily on his decision to omit Fofana and Youri Tielemans from the starting XI. "And two, I mentioned it in the week about coming into a Premier League game with players that maybe aren't quite in the right frame of mind. You cannot carry them and certainly we can't, so yes that is the reason."
He further explained post-match: “I don't know. There’s a few offers for some players nowhere near the valuation the club would want to sell. None of them are for sale but I know how the game works. There’s a few weeks to go. I don't know what's going to happen."
All signs point to Fofana signing for Chelsea in the end. It would be a move that Jamie Redknapp would approve of, even for the big money mentioned. In the post-match analysis of Bournemouth vs Arsenal, the former Tottenham and Liverpool player made an exciting comparison between the two former Ligue 1 prospects.
"When you’ve got Fofana looking like he’s going to Chelsea, they’ve offered £80m and they were a defensive partnership - I think at St Etienne where they both did really well," he said on Sky Sports' coverage of the Saturday Night Football.
"The two of them are just such thoroughbreds they read the game so well, classy on the ball. Going away has helped him grow as a player and the Premier League is so unforgiving but he’s learned, strong and such a mature player."
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