Chelsea pursue Premier League man as Antonio Rudiger replacement with exit looming

Chelsea are eyeing Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana as a replacement for departing star Antonio Rudiger, according to a report.

After Chelsea’s 1-0 win over West Ham, Thomas Tuchel confirmed Rudiger would leave Stamford Bridge as a free agent this summer. The Blues have made several contract offers over the past few months. However, none of them have been good enough to convince him to stay.

Their chances of retaining Rudiger were lowered amid sanctions imposed on owner Roman Abramovich. Chelsea will now have to deal with him lining up for a Champions League rival next term.

Barcelona are in contact with Rudiger’s agent, although they refuse to reveal whether these talks are specifically about the German.

He is most likely to end up at Real Madrid after reaching a ‘verbal agreement’ with Los Blancos.

Chelsea must now hunt a top-class replacement for the 29-year-old. He will be a huge loss, but capturing a successor in the summer will help to soften the blow.

Wesley Fofana linked with Chelsea transfer

The Evening Standard reveal a potential solution – Fofana. They claim the Leicester man is under consideration for a switch to west London.

Chelsea have been keeping tabs on the 21-year-old’s development since last season. He has missed the majority of the current campaign due to a leg break in pre-season.

Fofana is now back in the Foxes’ starting eleven and making a big impact.

Chelsea’s interest is hotting up once again after the confirmation that Rudiger would be leaving.

However, it will not be cheap or simple to complete the Frenchman’s signing. He is also a target for English rivals Manchester United and Manchester City.

Plus, Leicester will want a huge fee to let the Marseille-born star leave.

Fofana put sides on alert last year by making the following admission: “A club that makes me dream? There’s Marseille, Real Madrid, Barcelona. In the Premier League, there are Chelsea, United, City…

“But you have to work to make your dreams come true. Through work, you can achieve anything.”

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