Chelsea have had a bid for Leicester defender Wesley Fofana rejected.
The Stamford Bridge side offered £60 million for the French under-21 international but the Midlands club value him considerably higher.
However, there are indications that the Blues may be prepared to go in excess of the É80 million they received from Manchester United for Harry Maguire – the previous world record price paid for a defender – to get their man.
Fofana signed from Saint-Étienne two years ago, and was a key member of the squad that won the FA Cup in 2021, ironically beating Chelsea in the final.
However, he suffered a broken leg in a pre-season friendly last August and missed much of the following league campaign. His absence was widely blamed as the main reason why Leicester had such a poor defensive record last season.
Chelsea have already signed Kalidou Koulibaly but are still in the hunt for more defensive reinforcements.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.