Man United set to raid Leicester again as they open talks about signing Fofana

Man United set to raid Leicester again as they open talks about signing Fofana

Manchester United ‘have made contact with Leicester City about signing Wesley Fofana’ – but the impressive 20-year-old defender won’t come cheap.

Fofana, a France under-21 international, has been excellent in his first season for the Foxes after joining from Saint-Etienne for £36.5million last October.

His mature performances have helped Leicester’s challenge for Champions League football next season and they play Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday.

According to French outlet Foot Mercato, Fofana’s form has led to an initial approach by United, who are looking for a commanding centre-back to partner with captain Harry Maguire.

However, the report also says United would have to pay Leicester a similar transfer fee to the £80m they stumped up for Maguire in 2019.

With Fofana contracted until 2025 and Leicester reluctant to sell to a Premier League top four rival, they would be expected to demand a premium for such a promising player.

Marseille-born Fofana has played in 29 matches across all competitions for Leicester in his debut season, forming a good understanding with Jonny Evans at the back.

United will target a new centre-half in the summer with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not convinced that Victor Lindelof or Eric Bailly have the qualities to partner Maguire as the club look to mount a title challenge.

But with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to a loss of matchday revenue at Old Trafford, United’s finances have taken a serious hit.

This could limit the amount of spending money available in the summer window, especially as they also need a top class centre forward and potentially another holding midfielder.

United have also been linked with other centre-halves including Raphael Varane of Real Madrid and Nikola Milenkovic of Fiorentina.

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