Thomas Tuchel remains eager to strengthen his back-line before the transfer deadline – which is just 10 days away – and Sunday’s 3-0 defeat away to Leeds will only have reinforced that view.
The west Londoners, who had Kalidou Koulibaly sent off late on at Elland Road, have already had two bids for Fofana rejected by Leicester.
The Frenchman was left out of his side’s most recent outing against Southampton due to the speculation surrounding him, with Brendan Rodgers feeling he was not in the right frame of mind.
Chelsea are now set to make a third bid for Fofana, though it is expected to be just shy of Leicester’s £85million price tag.
Rodgers and Fofana have spoken extensively and there is a growing feeling that the Foxes are increasingly open to letting the 21-year-old leave even if their mammoth asking price isn’t met in full.
Chelsea would still need to stump up around £80m, however, and Leicester would expect more of it to be paid up front.
There are clearly still plenty of obstacles to overcome before Chelsea can strike a deal and the Daily Mail are reporting that they have lined up an alternative in case Fofana remains at Leicester.
The Blues have set their sights on another Brighton player – having already spent big on Marc Cucurella this summer – and have added centre-back Adam Webster to their list of potential backup options.
Webster has impressed enormously in the Premier League since joining the Seagulls in 2019 and is thought to be in contention for a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
He impressed Chelsea up close last season when he gave a man-of-the-match performance at the Amex in a 1-1 draw, netting his side’s equaliser.
While he may not be regarded quite as highly as Fofana, Chelsea feel Webster could be a useful option if Leicester play hard-ball and his pre-existing relationship with Cucurella would certainly help his integration into the side.
It is not clear how much Brighton would expect to receive for Webster, but they effectively already have a replacement in the form of on-loan Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill and he certainly would not command a fee as high as Fofana.
Manchester United’s out-of-form Harry Maguire – who could be dropped by Erik ten Hag for Monday night’s clash with Liverpool – is another player Chelsea are considering.
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