Journalist reveals what Chelsea are 'willing to pay' for Fofana; "more" signatures planned

Chelsea 'believe' they can land Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana and are also targeting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, according to Jacob Steinberg.

The Blues completed the signing of Marc Cucurella on Friday, paying Brighton £62million for the Spanish left-back.

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Cucurella will provide competition for Ben Chilwell but can also be used as a left centre-half in Thomas Tuchel's back three.

Chelsea have also signed Gabriel Slonina, Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Carney Chukwuemeka, spending around £170m in total on five new players.

However, the Premier League club haven't made much money from outbound transfers. They received a £7.2million loan fee from Inter Milan for Romelu Lukaku, but the rest of their departures have been either direct loans or free transfers.

Armando Broja has been linked with a move and the club have reportedly rejected a £30m bid from West Ham for the Albanian striker.

Timo Werner could also be on the move with a move to RB Leipzig reportedly on the cards, although that deal is more likely to be on loan than a permanent switch.

One player who is likely to leave the club is Marcos Alonso - especially given the arrival of Cucurella - with Barcelona very enthusiastic.

It was reported this week that Chelsea have offered Barca €70m plus Alonso for midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

While outgoing transfers are necessary, Chelsea are far from finished this summer when it comes to arrivals, despite being the biggest spenders in Europe.

Another central defender is on the agenda following the arrival of Koulibaly and the departures of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Levi Colwill.

Leicester's Fofana is a prime target, but the Blues will have to break the bank to land the young Frenchman.

Chelsea's opening bid was reported at around £63m and was immediately turned down.

Ben Jacobs reported that a second offer worth "over £70million" was also "unsurprisingly" rejected.

Jacobs says the Blues are preparing a 'significant third offer' - and Jacob Steinberg claims they are 'willing to go up to £85m' and 'believe that would be enough to get him'.

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The Guardian reporter notes that signing Fofana would take Chelsea well over £200m in spending as they also target De Jong, Aubameyang and Cesare Casadei.< /p>

Chelsea are confident despite Leicester's asking price and their desire to keep the player - who only signed a new long-term contract in March.