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Real Madrid have renewed their interest in Leicester City starlet Wesley Fofana. Four weeks ago, rumours about the young centre-back link with the club had surfaced. However, It was quickly put to bed with the Raphaël Varane transfer still looking unrealistic.
After a month, things have changed. Now, Los Blancos will be desperate to fill the void in their defenses that exist due to the combined departures of the two World Cup winners in Raphaël Varane and Sergio Ramos.
Journalist Fabrice Hawkins now reports that Wesley Fofana is again a target of Real's new manager Carlo Ancelotti. Leicester City rate their young Frenchman highly and thus will not give in easily. The Foxes are reportedly asking around €80m for the defender. Madrid has to negotiate fast if an agreement is to happen before the end of August.
Why are all eyes on Wesley Fofana?
During the last two seasons, Ligue 1 side Saint-Étienne produced two great prospects. One of them was William Saliba, and the other was Wesley Fofana. Both were nearly about the same age(18) when the defensive duo caught the attention of scouts.
Saliba looked to be the brighter prospect, while Fofana was not far behind. Premier League club Arsenal picked up Saliba, and he looked set to be the next big thing. Soon after, Leicester City managed to land the signature of Saint-Étienne's second-best in Fofana.
Real Madrid are very interested in Wesley #Fofana . Exchanges with the player's entourage for weeks. No offer at the moment. Real are waiting to see how Kylian's situation unfolds #Mbappé before possibly launching on WF. (1/2) -Fabrice Hawkins on Twitter.
Since that happened, the destinies of ex-teammates have been very contrasting. While Fofana has established himself as a real challenge to opposition attackers, Saliba has not managed to impress his boss and has been loaned out by the club three times till now.
#Leicester will ask for at least 80 M €. ( 2/2) -Hawkins added.
Carlo Ancelotti had a close look at the 20-year-old central defender during his role as Everton manager last season. It is understandable why the Madrid boss will be keen to add such talent to his plans ahead of the new season.
Still, the deal depends on two factors: Real Madrid's continued pursuit of Kylian Mbappé, which looks to be stagnant at this time; and Leicester City's price demand. The astronomical valuation does make sense from City's perspective, not from Madrid's side.
Leicester City goes by the motto of "Foxes Never Quit" and recently, due to the influence of social media hashtags, #FearlessFoxes. The latter describes the impression the 20-year-old Frenchman has made on the Foxes.
No wonder the King Power-based club are unmoved by the approach of Casa Blanca. Fofana is the heartbeat of Leicester City's defense. Brendan Rodgers, with his impressive back three system, has caught up with the top clubs in the league.
Unfortunately, they dropped down to fifth on the final day of the season. They failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for a second consecutive time. However, they won the prestigious FA Cup for the first time in the club's history.
City need to add a centre-back as their system demands so. With the recent retirement of their former captain Wes Morgan, Leicester will be even more desperate to hold on to Fofana. Fofana looks well settled, having paired up with veterans Jonny Evans and Çağlar Söyüncü. We can be sure that Rodgers would like to keep it that way.
