MX23RW : Sunday, December 22 18:32:22| >> :120:9129:9129:

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
6pm
Lions
@
Bears
6pm
Browns
@
Bengals
6pm
Patriots
@
Bills
6pm
Titans
@
Colts
6pm
Giants
@
Falcons
6pm
Rams
@
Jets
6pm
Cardinals
@
Panthers
6pm
Eagles
@
Washington
9.05pm
Vikings
@
Seahawks
9.25pm
49ers
@
Dolphins
9.25pm
Jags
@
Raiders
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


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!