Chelsea and Liverpool target glad £51m summer transfer didn’t happen

Several Premier League clubs wanted to sign Malick Fofana over the summer (Photo: Getty)

Malick Fofana has confirmed that Chelsea and Liverpool wanted to sign him over the summer but is glad he stayed at Lyon.

Both the Blues and the Reds were in the market to sign a new left-winger during the transfer window with Fofana one of their top targets.

In the end, Chelsea decided to bring in Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund and Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United at a cost of £91million.

Meanwhile, Liverpool opted not to directly replace Luis Diaz, instead giving teenage sensation Rio Ngumoha a clearer pathway into the first-team.

Fofana, 20, also attracted interest from Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Everton and Fulham, as well as Bayern Munich, Napoli and RB Leipzig.

Lyon reportedly wanted £51.5m for the forward who scored 11 and assisted six goals in 41 appearances across all competitions last season.

Ultimately, the Belgium international stayed put and has begun the new campaign in great form, with two goal contributions in the opening three Ligue 1 games.

Fofana recently scored his first goal for Belgium (Photo: Getty)

A move to the Premier League or Club World Cup champions would surely be tempting to any player, but Fofana says he’s happy that a transfer didn’t materalise

Asked directly by Belgium media about the interest from Chelsea and Liverpool, he said: ‘There was interest from those two clubs, but ultimately nothing concrete.

‘I’ve considered a transfer, but now I think it’s more important that I play a lot, and that has to happen at Lyon. Because I still have some progress to make.’

Given the incredible depth of attacking options at Stamford Bridge and Anfield, Fofana was probably better off remaining at Lyon in order to get game time in a World Cup year.

The youngster scored his first goal for Belgium last week and if he has another strong season, there’s every chance he’ll be linked with a big-money transfer again next summer.

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