Man Utd force Leicester into rear-guard action as Real Madrid come calling
Leicester have slapped an €80m price tag on the head of a current star to dissuade Real Madrid from raiding the club, according to a report.
Real Madrid are are about to embark on a new era this coming season. The Sergio Ramos-Raphael Varane partnership that started three of their four Champions League final successes in the last decade has been broken up.
Ramos left for PSG on a free, while Varane is poised to join Man Utd after a protracted transfer saga.
Los Blancos are set to recoup around £41m for the Frenchman, and by all accounts, that will be immediately reinvested in the transfer market.
French football journalist, Fabrice Hawkins (vial France Football News) has reported the Varane cash will go towards bringing another Frenchman on board.
Kylian Mbappe remains their number one target. But should that blockbuster deal prove unworkable this summer, they could instead try to tempt Leicester into selling Wesley Fofana.
The 20-year-old centre-half was a revelation last season. Fofana arrived for a fee potentially rising to £36.5m from St. Etienne. However, any doubts over such a lofty fee were quickly extinguished as Fofana became one of the league’s most impressive defenders.
A report in late June revealed new Real boss Carlo Ancelotti’s admiration of Fofana. And with Varane now bound for Old Trafford, the Spanish giant have stepped up their pursuit of the youngster.
Hawkins confirmed Real are ‘very interested’ in Fofana and have held ‘exchanges’ with his entourage for weeks.
Predictably, the Foxes are reluctant to part ways with such a formidable defender. As such, it is revealed the club have stuck an €80m (£68.3m) asking price on Fofana.
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Brazilian in Leicester sights blasts critics
Meanwhile, Matheus Pereira admits he wants to leave West Brom this summer after hitting back at manager Valerien Ismael’s claims that he is not committed to the club.
Ismael said the South American is “not committed to the Championship and not committed to us.” Pereira then responded to the claims and pulled no punches in his assessment of the accusation.
“No one has ever seen an interview in which I bad mouthed the club, or anyone associated with the club, or even that I wanted to leave the club by any means,” he wrote on social media.
“That’s because I have character and I have respect for the club as it opened its doors for me when I needed and believed in me. Dedication has never lacked and I have been committed in the last two seasons.
“It’s extremely wrong for anybody to say I’m ‘not committed’ since I train and I commit as I normally would and give 100% every single day. I think it’s low to try and degrade my image and my professionalism in this manner.”
It seems inevitable that Pereira will be on his way this summer. Leicester, Aston Villa and West Ham have been linked, while he is said to have had an offer from Qatar.
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