Leicester City have made progress already on preparing for life without Chelsea-bound Wesley Fofana.
The Frenchman missed the game at Stamford Bridge between the two sides in game week four as the 21-year-old's head was elsewhere, as visible in his social media activity on the morning of the game. As well as appreciating Gary Lineker's goodbye tweet, the player in question inadvertently confirmed his move on Twitter with his quote retweet. Fast forward a few days after the 2-1 win for his soon-to-be new club, the Foxes star has been sent to America to undergo his medical tests.
football.london understands that a base fee of around a guaranteed £70million has been shaken on between the two sides, with add-ons potentially adding to the cost in the long-term. Although some sources are indicating that the total fee with add-ons included will be around the £70m mark meaning a world record fee will not be broken on this occasion.
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The total package for everything remains to be seen in the long-term, but in the short-term, Chelsea are waiting for clearance to announce this deal whilst Leicester are trying to source his replacement.
Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has confirmed the replacement in mind for the East Midlands side, and it's not long-term targets Merih Demiral or Edmond Tapsoba.
Romano confirmed: 'Excl: Leicester have opened talks with Reims to sign Wout Faes as a new centre back to replace Fofana. He's the main option in the list, not the only one.
'Negotiations ongoing - Torino had a bid turned down for Faes a few weeks ago. Leicester, on it.'
Romano also confirmed that the medical was done with a further tweet: 'Wesley Fofana has completed final part of his medical tests in New York — understand it’s all fine, no issues and he’s now set to be unveiled as new Chelsea player. Wout Faes will be his replacement at Leicester.'
On top of all this speculation about a replacement for the World Cup hopeful, Rodgers confirmed on Thursday that he is awaiting an update like everyone else before this transfer saga is brought to an end.
"There's nothing as of yet," the Scotsman said on Fofana via Leicestershire Live. "Nothing has been confirmed. I'm sure the club will let you know. If Wesley goes, that would hopefully give us the opportunity to do something. At the beginning of the window, it was earmarked that a number of people might go out to play or that the club might move, but that hasn't materialised. I'd still be hopeful we can do something over these next few days."
Chelsea fans- Who would Wesley Fofana replace in the backline for his potential debut this weekend against West Ham in the London derby? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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