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.
COMMENTS