Chelsea Target Fofana Absent From Leicester Squad Vs Southampton Amid Transfer Saga

Chelsea transfer target Wesley Fofana was not included in Leicester City’s matchday squad for their match against Southampton on Saturday. After starting the first two Premier League games of the season, the French defender was not even a replacement at the King Power Stadium.

Chelsea have made the centre-back a priority late in the transfer window, with Brendan Rodgers already confirming two offers from the Stamford Bridge club.

Our starting XI for today’s #PL match 🦊 📝#LEISOU pic.twitter.com/lWQ5237Ans

— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 20, 2022

If his transfer to Chelsea goes through, Fofana might become the most expensive defender in history, surpassing former Leicester City favourite Harry Maguire.

Will Leicester Sell Fofana To Chelsea?

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers stated during the club’s pre-match press conference on Friday that the defender will not be sold this summer. He did, however, acknowledge that the player’s situation is interfering with his team’s focus.

“The idea is that he is very much a Leicester player. He’s not for sale. Unless anything changes, I would expect him to be here,” Rodgers said.

That came amid rumours that Fofana had requested to be left out of the match against Southampton, and with him not in the squad on Saturday, it appears that a departure may be the only option to resolve the matter. Unsurprisingly, Rodgers was questioned about his star defender’s absence in the build-up to the match at King Power Stadium.

“I mentioned in the week about coming into a Premier League game and we don’t need players that are maybe not quite in the right frame of mind,” said the Leicester boss.

❌ Wesley Fofana
❌ Youri Tielemans

Brendan Rodgers says any player not in the ‘right frame of mind’ can’t be picked. 👀 pic.twitter.com/ptbfhTaFBa

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 20, 2022

See Also: Arsenal Legend Says Fans Won’t Be Happy If Chelsea Signs Aubameyang

However, things do not get any simpler for Chelsea, who must still agree on a transfer fee with Leicester.

According to a previous Sky Sports story, Fofana is becoming increasingly angry that Leicester is asking a world-record fee for a defender after rejecting two offers worth more than £60 million from the west London side.

This is presumably the final hurdle in the potential transfer, as the French center-back has reportedly agreed to a six-year contract with Chelsea on personal terms.