Chelsea and Manchester United will reportedly have to pay Leicester City £68million if they want to sign star defender Wesley Fofana.
Both clubs are in the market for a new centre-back this summer, with the Blues needing reinforcements after losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on a free, while Erik ten Hag is looking to reshape the Red Devils squad.
One player that has been linked with both Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford for a while is Fofana, who enjoyed a brilliant debut season with Leicester in 2020/21, winning the FA Cup and finishing fifth in the Premier League.
However, after breaking his leg during pre-season last August, the 21-year-old was forced to miss most of the last campaign, making just 12 appearances in the closing stages of the season.
Nevertheless, his quality and potential mean he still has plenty of admirers, but the Foxes are determined not to lose a key member of their defence, and according to French outlet RMC Sport the club have slapped a £68m price tag on the Frenchman in order to scare off interested parties.
Leicester know such a fee should deter United, who will be wary of paying over the odds for a Foxes defender having previously splashed a record £80m on Harry Maguire.
But Chelsea may not be put off as Thomas Tuchel will reportedly be given a £200m transfer budget from new Blues owner Todd Boehly.
Given that Brendan Rodgers’ side paid Saint Etienne over £30m for Fofana it is understandable they would need to charge a significant fee in order to make money on the defender.
Fofana is not the only centre-back on either club’s shortlist, with the likes of Ajax’s Jurrien Timber, RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol and Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni also on the radar.
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