Wesley Fofana: Chelsea verbally agree deal with Leicester for French defender
Chelsea verbally agree a deal for defender Wesley Fofana with Leicester with transfer fee believed to be £70m plus add-ons; Blues host Foxes at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Frenchman already confirmed as missing game because of speculation
Saturday 27 August 2022 14:11, UK
Chelsea have reached a verbal agreement with Leicester over a fee for Wesley Fofana.
Sky Sports News has been told that the agreed fee is for £70m plus add-ons, but the detail of the structure of payments, and exact terms of add-ons are still to be decided.
However, the ultimate fee is unlikely to go beyond £75m. Personal terms between Fofana and Chelsea are expected to be agreed quickly and will not bring up any problems.
Leicester are now looking at possible replacements.
- Summer transfer window 2022: Done deals
- Premier League ins and outs
- Leicester's transfer situation explained: Should fans be worried?
- Transfer Centre LIVE!
- Get Sky Sports | Download the Sky Sports App
Brendan Rodgers confirmed on Thursday that Fofana, who missed last weekend's defeat to Southampton amid the speculation over his future, would also be unavailable for Saturday's trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
Fofana wanted to move to the Blues and, speaking after Leicester's penalty shoot-out victory at Stockport in the Carabao Cup, Rodgers confirmed the player was training with the club's U23s after failing to turn up to a training session last week.
"He won't be available for the weekend and has trained with the U23 squad," Rodgers told reporters ahead of Saturday's game.
"My concentration is on the players that we have, and the team. I can't lose energy. If something will be done, it will be done with the clubs. Until that happens we just have to work with what we have."
Rodgers added: "Hopefully [there will be some transfer business done between now and the end of the window]. That would be really good for the team to be able to do that, to improve the squad is always important. But until that changes, we will work with what we have."
A third Chelsea bid for Fofana, worth £70m in total, was immediately rejected earlier this week.
The offer was believed to be £60m with a possible £10m in add-ons - but the additional payments were described to Sky Sports News as "ambitious" targets.
Chelsea previously had two bids in excess of £60m rejected.
Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports
Who will be on the move this summer before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1?
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
