Chelsea to take incredible £49m hit as star ‘offered’ to Barcelona | OneFootball

Chelsea risk losing huge money on Wesley Fofana, with his agent trying to secure a move to Barcelona, as per a report.

Fofana developed a reputation as one of the finest young defenders in the Premier League during his spell at Leicester City. This prompted Chelsea to pay a whopping £75m to sign him on a seven-year contract in August 2022.

Fofana is joint-third on the list of the most expensive defenders of all time, tied with Virgil van Dijk and behind only Harry Maguire and Josko Gvardiol.

Despite demonstrating huge potential at Leicester, Fofana’s Chelsea spell has been badly affected by injuries. In nearly four years at Stamford Bridge, he has made only 68 appearances.

34 of those outings have come this season. But there look set to be big changes at Chelsea this summer following a hugely disappointing campaign, and the Frenchman could be among those to leave.

According to Sky Sports journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Fofana’s agent has ‘offered’ him to Barcelona, and the Catalan giants are now ‘considering’ whether to open official talks with Chelsea.

Fofana’s name has been ‘added’ to Barca’s list as they seek defensive reinforcements. A left-sided centre-back is the priority, but Hansi Flick may also need a right-sided defender if Jules Kounde leaves. Fofana is a candidate to replace Kounde thanks to his ability to operate as either a right centre-half or right-back.

The report claims Chelsea would sell the 25-year-old if a €30m (£26m) bid came in. A transfer at that price would see the Blues take a monumental £49m hit on their initial investment.

Barca, though, have decided on a loan with an option to buy as their ‘preferred option’. This would give Flick a season to analyse Fofana’s performances, while also giving Barca time to draw up the necessary funds for a permanent transfer.

Despite this report, it would be a huge surprise if Fofana actually completed a transfer to the Camp Nou.

After all, Barca will be well aware that his injury record at Chelsea has been atrocious. Barca have made plenty of mistakes in the transfer market in recent years and cannot afford to sign an injury-prone player this summer.

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Serious issues at Chelsea

For Chelsea, Fofana is another example of financial mismanagement. They have overspent on players such as Fofana, Jamie Gittens, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia, while also signing other players too early in their careers, most notably Liam Delap.

Chelsea will alter their transfer strategy this summer and focus on bringing in more experienced players to help the younger members of the squad develop.

But it is too little, too late for supporters. Liam Rosenior only lasted 106 days after replacing Enzo Maresca as Chelsea head coach, and the Blues are in freefall.

A 3-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest saw Chelsea lose their sixth straight league game, leaving them in ninth place and highly unlikely to qualify for the Champions League.

Joao Pedro’s overhead kick against Forest was also their first goal in the Premier League since March 4.

Chelsea have booked their place in the FA Cup final against Manchester City, but they will go into that game as big underdogs.

Sources have provided us with an update on Chelsea’s hunt for a new head coach. We understand two targets are not keen on the job, with a new favourite emerging.