STAMFORD BRIDGE — Wesley Fofana is, by Gary Lineker’s reckoning, “the most prodigiously talented young central defender in the world”. Selling him for £70m, more than double what Leicester paid for him under two years ago, is still an extraordinary piece of business.
It nonetheless caps what Brendan Rodgers admits has been a “very difficult, challenging window“, for which he may soon pay the price with his job – and the fallout of Fofana’s imminent move to Chelsea was had already begun in Saturday’s 2-1 victory for Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Just like Ben Chilwell who trod this path before him, the defender was berated throughout by Foxes fans, many of whom do not share Lineker’s supposition that it is “understandable” that he wants to play Champions League football. Crucially, though, his absence was immediately felt in the heart of Leicester’s ailing defence.
It seemed only a matter of time before the Daniel Amartey-Jonny Evans partnership bore the poisoned fruit some feared it would and while both are technically good players, it was a cruel knock to the club’s hopes of coping without Fofana that Raheem Sterling’s opening goal came precisely from Amartey’s inaction. Sterling danced in front of him, had space to pick his looping shot in the furthest top corner, and a slight deflection from Amartey helped it in.
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Since arriving in the Premier League, Fofana has a tackle success rate of 70 per cent, compared to Amartey’s 58 per cent – but his departure is about numbers in a more urgent way too. Leicester shifted to a back four rather than a three at the back and with Evans’ injury record (he missed 23 games last season), it unclear how they will manage even with Caglar Soyuncu on the bench too. Despite that, everyone from Rodgers downwards appears to have accepted that they will not be bringing in reinforcements.
“We’ve been unable to add,” he said after the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge. “Speculation on our top players, no doubt it’s been difficult. It will shut Thursday, everything becomes calm again and we can move on. Until that point, we have to keep fighting.”
Fofana was not in the matchday squad after it emerged on the morning of the game that Chelsea’s offer – their fourth, no less – had finally been accepted. “It’s the same with any player, for me if they decide to move and see their future elsewhere it is better to have it done as quickly as you possibly can,” Rodgers added.
Leicester believe they have picked their moment to cash in. Making a combined £150m+ for two centre-backs in three years (including Harry Maguire’s £80m world-record move for a defender to Manchester United) is undeniably shrewd, yet it deepens a defensive crisis which has seen them helpless in the face of set-pieces; the appointment of a specialist coach is being held up by red tape.
It is easy to forget that in May, they were playing in a European semi-final and Saturday’s game was a repeat of the 2021 FA Cup final in which they beat Chelsea 1-0. That was the second fairytale that consolidated the first and suggested it might not have been such a freak occurrence at all.
But in their present moment, they are winless, in the relegation zone, without the injured James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira, and longing for the days when their greatest worry was a trademark end-of-season fizzle that saw them miss out on the Champions League by one point in 2020-21 and then finish eighth, a place shy of qualifying for the Conference League, in 2021-22. Last week, when they required penalties to get past Stockport County, the biggest indictment came as the League Two side’s fans began to sing “you’re getting sacked in the morning” and the Leicester fans joined in.
At least Thomas Tuchel had reason to smile again, despite watching from the stands due to his clash with Antonio Conte. The Chelsea boss would not be drawn on the Fofana transfer – “I can’t tell you anything about that” was his reply. Yet when it does happen, he will have some questions to answer about exactly how his defensive ranks will be prevented from bursting at the seems.
It was the one area Chelsea did not need to strengthen, with no focal point in attack and a threadbare defensive midfield. Then again, the 3-0 thrashing at Leeds spoke of a lack of leaders, a role Fofana may grow into with time.This was far from a perfect performance, saved by Sterling’s brace after Conor Gallagher’s red card inside the first half an hour. There is still a flatness about them that will not be fixed with Fofana, but the void he leaves behind is telling: if they weren’t already, Leicester are in serious trouble.
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Leicester’s transfer window explained
By Daniel Storey, i‘s chief football writer
Leicester’s sluggishness is neither deliberate nor accidental; it is necessary. In their last published accounts, their wage bill had risen to roughly 85 per cent of turnover and was comfortably the highest outside the Big Six. Leicester have lost approximately £120m combined over the last three seasons.
That figure is clearly impacted by Covid-19’s practical and economic limitations, but it means that Leicester simply couldn’t afford to freewheel their way through the summer window. There are concerns over FFP and the need to reduce the wage-turnover ratio.
The need to sell to buy is exacerbated by the presence of several, barely wanted fringe players. Outfielders who haven’t yet played a minute this season despite being fit include Jannik Vestergaard, Boubakary Soumare, Nampalys Mendy, Ayoze Perez and Caglar Soyuncu. Brendan Rodgers would probably be happy for any of those to leave (or, ideally, already have left). There are no great secrets about who is wanted and who is dispensable.
This is an extract of Daniel Storey’s column ‘Leicester City are in transfer window limbo’ – you can read his full analysis here
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