Liverpool and Chelsea set for bidding war for player who was pizza delivery boy
Liverpool and Chelsea are set to go dough-to-dough over a midfielder who used to deliver pizzas for a living.
Monaco's Youssouf Fofana has been turning heads in Ligue 1 and looks to be heading right to the very top(pings), with clubs from all over Europe wanting a pizza him.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea are in the market for midfielders and it's understood they see Fofana as a cheaper alternative to the likes of Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo, who are likely cost around £100m.
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Monaco don't want to lose him but it's thought they'd be willing to let him leave should an offer of around £25m be lodged which, however you slice it, is excellent value for money in the current market – though the price is expected to shoot up should a bidding war break out.
The 24-year-old has drawn comparisons to Aurelien Tchouameni, but has flown under the radar in the wake of his former club-mate's high-profile move from Monaco to Real Madrid last summer.
For those who might not know him, Fofana is an energetic runner, a tough tackler, and is both smart and intense in the press. His ability on the ball and to contribute to attack have also earned plaudits, though he's primarily a defensive-minded midfielder.
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His profile should appeal to Jurgen Klopp, who is desperate to bolster his team's creaking midfield. After pulling out of the race to sign Jude Bellingham Liverpool have turned their attention to Brighton's Alexis Mac Allister, but it's thought they also want to bring in a more combative midfielder to partner him and Fabinho and in the centre.
Chelsea meanwhile are searching for N'Golo Kante's long-term replacement, and although the former Leicester man is expected to extend his contract in the coming weeks his injury proneness has become a big concern for the Blues, who are likely to want to take some responsibility off his shoulders by bringing in a similar-type of midfielder.
Should Fofana join Chelsea he'd become the third man with that surname to sign for the club in the past year following the arrivals of Wesley and David Datro.
Fofana is of Malian descent but was born and raised in Paris. As a youngster he joined the France's famed Clairefontaine national academy, which has produced stars such as Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Kylian Mbappe, but he was released just after his 14th birthday.
It would be four years before he joined another academy, during which time he returned to full-time studying and worked as a pizza delivery boy, all while playing amateur football on the side.
He eventually signed for Strasbourg in 2017 and made his professional debut for the club a year later, at the age of 19. A year-and-a-half later, Monaco came calling and snapped him up for £12m. He's since made over 130 appearances for the club.
Fofana made his France debut just before the 2022 World Cup. At the tournament he featured in six of France's seven matches, starting two of them; their 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in the group stage and their 2-0 win over Morocco in the semi-final. He also came on during extra time in the final against Argentina.
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