MX23RW : Tuesday, March 11 19:35:35| >> :120:32127:32127:

Leicester agree £30m deal for Saint-Etienne defender Wesley Fofana

Leicester agree £30m deal for Wesley Fofana
© Reuters
The Foxes have been in the market for a new defender and have agreed a deal with the French club.

Leicester have agreed a deal with St Etienne for defender Wesley Fofana.

The Foxes are expected to pay more than £30million for the 19-year-old, with the Ligue 1 side confirming it would be a club record sale.

It will end Leicester's interest in Burnley's James Tarkowski, who had been keen on a move to the King Power Stadium, after they had a bid worth more than £30million rejected last week.

A St Etienne statement read: "AS Saint-Etienne reached an agreement on Tuesday evening with Leicester, the current leaders of the English Premier League, for the transfer of defender Wesley Fofana.

"The amount of this transfer is the largest ever obtained by the club."

Boss Brendan Rodgers had targeted a new centre-back and Fofana had spoken out about wanting to move to the Midlands after an initial bid was turned down earlier this month.

"I've received a lot of offers," Fofana told L'Equipe. "It's normal to have them checked with my agents. They didn't agree to me talking. But what just happened broke something in me.

"My decision is made: I accept an offer. Yes (to Leicester). I've always dreamed of playing in England."

James Tarkowski File Photo
The Foxes appear to have given up their pursuit of James Tarkowski.(PA)

Leicester had also been chasing Tarkowski and had two bids rejected in January in addition to last week's offer.

Burnley had also turned down two approaches from West Ham with their valuation closer to £40million.

The Clarets were confident of keeping the England international and never entertained selling him.

Leicester have already signed Timothy Castagne from Atalanta for £21.5million and Cengiz Under on loan from Roma.

ID:416459: cacheID:416459:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4587:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Leicester City's Jamie Vardy claims the match ball after his hat-trick against Manchester City on September 27, 2020
Read Next:
PL Team of the Week - Vardy, Grealish, Meslier
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29217169274270
2Arsenal281510352242855
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest28156745331251
4Chelsea28147753361749
5Manchester CityMan City28145953381547
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2814594738947
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton28121064640646
8Aston Villa2912984145-445
9Bournemouth28128847341344
10Fulham2811984138342
11Crystal Palace2810993633339
12Brentford28115124844438
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs281041455411434
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd2897123440-634
15Everton2871293135-433
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2896133248-1633
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2865173857-1923
18Ipswich TownIpswich2838172658-3217
19Leicester CityLeicester2845192562-3717
20Southampton2823232068-489


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!