Chelsea is rumored to be interested in £ 85 million rated Premier League defender Wesley Fofana after missing out on Jules Kounde to Barcelona.
The Blues have identified the 21-year-old as the alternative to Jules Kounde and possibly help them replace Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen after signing Kalidou Koulibaly.
Wesley Fofana joined Leicester City in 2020 for £36.5 million at The age of 19. the French international had made 50 appearances for Leicester City scoring one goal in the process.
However, Steve Nicol thinks Wesley Fofana may struggle to adapt at Chelsea claiming that he is not for a big club like Chelsea.
What did Steve Nicol say about Chelsea’s move for Wesley Fofana?
Speaking on ESPN, The former Liverpool right-back said: “If Fofana goes to Chelsea he’s off his head. The kid’s not ready, he burst onto the scene – you could say – but he’s not anywhere close to being the finished article. His biggest problem is his starting position.”
Steve Nicol added that the French Youngster may not be a regular starter at Chelsea as the 21-year-old had to fight for position in the Chelsea lineup with Thiago Silva, Jules Kounde, César Azpilicueta, and Trevoh Chalobah.
The former Scottish international added: “Playing for Leicester week-in, week-out even if you’re making mistakes, you’ll learn quickly and you’ll then be the finished article. You’re not going to be doing that at Chelsea if you’re not playing regularly, he needs to play regularly.”
Former French and Chelsea center-back Frank Leboeuf also had question marks on Chelsea’s move for the 21-year-old.
Frank Leboeuf said: “With Fofana, it’s a tricky situation. He plays for Leicester, he has a bright future and he knows that Koulibaly has just signed, Thiago Silva is there, and Chalobah is still there so where is he going to be put in that situation? Is there going to be a rotation system?”
Meanwhile, Jules Kounde revealed the reason for snubbing Chelsea for Barcelona.
Jules Kounde joined Barcelona for £47 million on a five-year deal with a one billion release clause.
During his unveiling the new Barcelona defender said when asked about Chelsea’s interest in him: “It’s true that I had the opportunity to sign for Chelsea but we had to wait for Barca to find an agreement with Sevilla.
“When I saw that it was possible, I chose Barcelona, I was very clear about that. It’s a big club and an ambitious project.”
Seville transfer Chief Monchi revealed last week that Chelsea pulled out of the deal to sign the French international on Thursday.
Monchi said: In the final stretch, Chelsea stayed above everyone else, we’d been negotiating over the past month until the point that we reached a verbal agreement last Thursday.
‘The player also reached an agreement but at the last moment, Chelsea had doubts. Everything stopped, there was a very good offer but they decided to stop.’
“The player, on Thursday night, was sold to Chelsea. With an agreement between the clubs and with the player, but, even if you have been in this world for a long time, there are situations that still surprise you.
“There were some moves at Chelsea that made them doubt Kounde’s profile. The wait was delayed to the point that Barca appeared. Chelsea wanted to come back, but Barca’s offer was better.”
