There is a belief that Chelsea will sign Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana this summer.
What’s the word?
That is according to journalist Simon Phillips, via GIVEMESPORT, who suggests that the 21-year-old wants to secure a move to Stamford Bridge and has been told that a deal will be done.
As per the report, Phillips suggests that the sources he has spoken to also believe that the Blues will end up signing Fofana before September’s deadline.
Speaking to GMS, Phillips said: “It’s clear that he wants to go. It’s clear that he’s told everyone at Leicester that he wants to go, so it’s just a case of getting that fee agreed now, and I think it will get agreed.
“Both clubs are sort of holding out. There’s a bit of a stand-off at the moment, but sources I’ve spoken to believe that it’s going to get done.”
The new Van Dijk
The latest news surrounding Fofana bodes entirely well from a Chelsea perspective and brings shock value with mention of a stand-off occurring at Leicester City.
But it looks as though the club are on track in their pursuit of a player who already boasts metrics equal to Virgil van Dijk.
He is of the same ilk as the Liverpool man and performs a very similar role for Leicester, being astute and trustworthy in possession, whilst having the ability to initiate attacking transitions from deep with his range of long passing that sees him hit an average of 78.2% completion rate for an average of 10.78 long passes completed per 90.
Those numbers are similar to that of Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, who is notorious for his ability to break the lines with his long passing ability. The Netherlands international averages 13.14 long passes completed at a completion rate of 78.4%.
Whilst his ability out of possession is of course elite, sharing a similar percentage of dribblers tackled metric of 70%, in relation to Van Dijk’s 72.2%, it’s his ability on the ball that makes him a perfect fit for Chelsea’s 3-4-2-1 system.
Fofana averages 67.77 passes completed, with 5.05 of these being passes into the final third. His average of 53.84 carries per 90 also represent great value in what is an outstanding number in comparison to positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues.
At Leicester City under Brendan Rodgers, he has developed nicely. But at Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel, he can become the Premier League’s next Van Dijk, having already matched some important metrics at the tender age of 21.
The sky is the limit for Fofana and Chelsea represent the best option for him to fulfil his gigantic potential.
