The Chelsea shirt number that Wesley Fofana could wear as £70m transfer ‘agreed’

Chelsea have reportedly agreed a deal with Leicester City to sign defender Wesley Fofana.

The centre-back has been linked with a switch to Stamford Bridge for a while now and the move looks like it will finally go through.

Fofana, 21, has caught the eye playing in the Premier League with the Foxes over the past couple of years.

The Athletic report the Blues have ‘agreed’ a fee in the region of £70million for his services.

He is now heading over to America for his medical as he looks to get the transfer done before the end of the window this week.

Fofana’s story so far

Fofana was born in Marseille, Southern France, and played local football for the likes of Repos Vitrolles, Bassin Minier, Pennes Mirabeau and Bel Air before catching the eye of Saint Etienne.

He rose up through the academy of the French side and was a regular for them at various youth levels.

The defender then went on to make 30 appearances for their first-team as a youngster before earning his move over to England in 2020.

He is also a France U21 international and will be eyeing his first cap for the senior team in the near future.

Leicester forked out a fee of £31.5million (as per Transfermarkt) to lure him to the King Power Stadium and he has since played 52 times for them in all competitions, chipping in with a single goal from the back,

He also helped Brendan Rodgers’ side win the FA Cup at the end of his first year at the club after they beat Chelsea in the final at Wembley 1-0 thanks to Youri Tieleman’s goal.

What will he offer Chelsea?

Fofana will strengthen Chelsea’s defensive department if they can get the move over the line.

He already has bags of experience of playing in the top flight now and has proven he is a top defender at this level already.

At the age of just 21 still, he has the potential to grow and get even better in the future.

With Thiago Silva now 37, Thomas Tuchel has been in need of a younger option and Fofana fits the bill, which is why the London club are willing to fork out so much money for him.

What shirt number could he wear?

The player currently has the number 3 shirt at Leicester but that is taken by Marcos Alonso at Chelsea at the moment.

Number 2 is available following Antonio Rudiger’s summer departure to Spanish giants Real Madrid, whilst number 4 is also vacant after Andreas Christensen left for Barcelona.

The Blues don’t have a number 9 but a defender wouldn’t take that, whilst 15, previously donned by the likes of Florent Malouda and Olivier Giroud, is another option.

25 isn’t officially retired but it hasn’t been worn since Gianfranco Zola.

John Terry’s famous number 26 has been given to new signing Kalidou Koulibaly, who scored on his home debut against rivals Tott