Another summer, another big club trying to sign one of Leicester’s star players. And yet, the lessons have not been learnt from the big six. When Leicester set an asking price, that is the price you will pay if you want their player. For Wesley Fofana, it is £80m. The same price they sold Harry Maguire to Manchester United in 2019.
In fact, the two transfer sagas are following a similar pattern. United were determined to low ball Leicester and spent weeks trying to get a bargain price for the England centre-back. They ended up just paying £80m as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got his major signing over the line and made him the most expensive defender in the history of the sport.
Maguire was meant to be United’s Virgil van Dijk, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Meanwhile Leicester have continued to go about their business in a smart manner, bringing in incredible young talent and developing them. Now one of their 2020 summer signings Fofana, who they brought in for £36.5m, has doubled in price.
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As one of Leicester’s key players, the selling club are well within their rights to price the 21-year-old at that figure. Now they have rejected a third bid from Chelsea, believed to be in the region of £70m, they are holding firm, even if the player himself has been left out of the last two Leicester squads.
It seems as if the Blues will get their man given the money they have spent this summer, but if they want Fofana, they are going to pay full whack for him. It’s the latest in a long line of brilliant business for the Foxes, who have made a habit out of making other Premier League clubs pay through the nose for their talent.
After their league-winning season in 2016, N’Golo Kante was sold to Chelsea for £32m. Given he had three years left on his contract, on reflection it feels like a slight undervaluation, but the Foxes wanted to keep both Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez at the club. It would be the last time they sold a player for less than they were truly worth.
Mahrez would leave the club one year later in unceremonious circumstances, but even though he’d stopped going to Leicester training, the midlanders got £60m from Manchester City for his services. It was a good deal all round. That same summer, as Leicester regressed from the high of Champions League football, they also cashed in on Danny Drinkwater.
He was a player with a good engine that N’Golo Kante made look spectacular. Somehow, Leicester convinced Chelsea to pay £35m for his services. It was one of the deals of the century and he made just 12 appearances for the Stamford Bridge club over five seasons, reportedly earning £140k a week.
Those sales allowed Leicester to keep hold of Jamie Vardy against the odds, as Arsenal’s interest and bid of £40m didn’t match their demands. That’s a move that has paid off massively in the long run as he has consistently performed at the highest level in the Premier League.
Last summer they sold Ben Chilwell to Chelsea for a huge £50m. He’s clearly a talented player but for a player with such consistent injury issues, it is a more than acceptable price. Then this summer, they have had issues with Youri Tielemans but he remains at the club and James Maddison has been consistently linked with a move away.
The Belgian has only one year left on his contract so could move away for a lower price, but Maddison is now the team’s most crucial player, so it would take a mammoth offer to force Leicester to sell. Newcastle still want him as their marquee signing, but it will take more than the £60m quoted to drag him away from the King Power.
Even though they are seemingly weaker than they have been in a few years, Leicester cannot and will not be bullied in the transfer market. They’ve proved it so many times before. You want one of their star players, you pay a premium for them. Otherwise, they stay put. If Chelsea want Fofana, they need to stump up the £80m.
