Football League World
·10 August 2025
Exclusive: Swansea City, Preston and Leicester City backed to strike "realistic" deal for £3m striker

In partnership with
Yahoo sportsFootball League World
·10 August 2025
Don Goodman has spoken to FLW about the future of Wycombe Wanderers striker Richard Kone, as he continues to be linked to the Championship.
Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has admitted that Wycombe Wanderers dropping their valuation in Richard Kone is “realistic” and that it should attract interest from many Championship clubs.
Kone has been consistently linked with a move away from Adams Park to the second-tier during the summer transfer window, with the Chairboys originally demanding a fee of £5m for his services.
The Ivorian, who scored 18 goals last season in League One, has been unable to secure a move away from the club thus far, so Wycombe have reportedly dropped their valuation to £3m, hoping that can lure some Championship teams to make a move.
In recent times, Preston North End have been linked with making a summer swoop, while Swansea City had reportedly made a £4.5m bid before Wycombe lowered their asking price.
Leicester also share an interest as they look to make an instant return to the Premier League.
With this in mind, Don Goodman has weighed in with his thoughts on where Kone’s future lies as the summer transfer window continues to tick down.
Speaking exclusively to Football League World, former professional footballer-turned pundit, Don Goodman, believes that Wycombe Wanderers lowering their asking price for Richard Kone is “realistic” and insists the frontman could be a success at any of the trio of second-tier teams linked with him.
Goodman said: “Yeah, we’ve spoken about Richard Kone quite a bit, and that initial five-million-pound price tag has dropped. I think it's probably more realistic for a player who is in the fledgling part of his career.
“Obviously, transfer speculation in the January window clearly had an impact on him and Matt Bloomfield, who was getting the best out of him, him leaving for Luton had a negative impact on Richard Kone.
“I do think all round, though, he's a player that any club, Swansea, Preston or Leicester, would be able to develop and improve, and therefore, at three-million pounds, I think that's more realistic, and he'd do well at any of those clubs I would hope.”
Kone image credit - Benji Walker (@benjiwalkerphoto)
There’s no doubt Richard Kone is ready to step up and test himself at Championship level, but it has to be in a progressive and attacking system to suit the strengths of his game.
Under Matt Bloomfield, the Ivorian was an unstoppable force in League One, with his physicality and devastating finishing ability causing all sorts of problems for opposition defences, but with Mike Dodds, his new methods limited what he could produce, which led to a reduction of goals.
But in an attacking setup, Kone has proven he knows where the back of the net is on a consistent basis, and at just £3 million, it seems a gamble worth taking for any of Swansea, Preston or Leicester.
While the timing of the transfer would mean Kone would have to take a few Championship games to get up to speed, the patience could well be rewarded if he hits the ground running, with Kone possessing the necessary qualities when leading the line to turn into a top-class Championship asset.