{"id":43710,"date":"2026-02-24T23:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T04:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-lead-race-to-sign-e45m-ice-cold-finisher\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T23:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T04:54:20","slug":"arsenal-and-chelsea-lead-race-to-sign-e45m-ice-cold-finisher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-lead-race-to-sign-e45m-ice-cold-finisher\/","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal and Chelsea lead race to sign \u20ac45m &#8216;ice-cold finisher&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-lead-race-to-sign-e45m-ice-cold-finisher\/#Rayan_Fofana_is_highly_rated\" >Rayan Fofana is highly rated<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/arsenal-and-chelsea-lead-race-to-sign-e45m-ice-cold-finisher\/#Fofanas_suggested_price_revealed\" >Fofana&#8217;s suggested price revealed<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke to Chelsea&#8217;s Marc Cucurella. (Photo by Alex Pantling\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>Lens striker Rayan Fofana is rumored to be on the verge of leaving the French team and Premier League club.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in him. SportsBoom reports that Arsenal and Chelsea are leading the race to sign the talented young attacker, and it will be interesting to see if a deal goes through. The centre-forward has impressed with his &#8216;poacher&#8217; instincts and could be a useful signing for both London clubs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Download the official CaughtOffSide app to get all the latest news and updates straight to your phone. above <span role=\"presentation\"><u>apple<\/u><\/span>  &#038; <span role=\"presentation\"><u>Google play<\/u><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Rayan_Fofana_is_highly_rated\"><\/span>Rayan Fofana is highly rated<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Fofana has been described as a player with an &#8220;icy finish&#8221;. The two London clubs could use his clinical presence up front. The 19-year-old has scored six goals this season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Chelsea need to find a replacement for Liam Delap, who is unable to feature regularly in the back of the net. It will be interesting to see if Fofana can be signed in the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Meanwhile, Arsenal need more depth in their attacking line. Victor Gokeres lacks consistency and needs more quality in that part of the pitch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Arteta tells Arsenal to secure \u00a345m transfer fee following coaching staff verdict<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Fofanas_suggested_price_revealed\"><\/span>Fofana&#8217;s suggested price revealed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-414x254.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-630x387.jpg.webp 630w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-768x471.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-770x473.jpg.webp 770w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-900x552.jpg.webp 900w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-1200x736.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-1536x943.jpg.webp 1536w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/arsenal-v-rc-lens-group-g-uefa-youth-league-2023-24-1-2048x1257.jpg.webp 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 770px, (min-width:1020px) 630px, (min-width:900px) 880px, (min-width:680px) 97vw, (min-width:414px) 414px, 100vw\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lens&#8217; Ryan Fofana celebrates scoring. (Photo by Richard Heathcote\/Getty Images) BOREHAMWOOD, ENGLAND \u2013 NOVEMBER 29: Ryan Fofana of Lens celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Youth League match between Arsenal and RC Lens at Meadow Park in Borehamwood, England, on November 29, 2023. (Photo by Richard Heathcote\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">The player&#8217;s transfer fee is expected to be around 35 million to 45 million euros. It will be interesting to see if Arsenal or Chelsea are willing to pay that much for him. The young attacker is under contract with the French club until 2029, so the team is under no pressure to sell him. No wonder Lens commands a premium for his signature.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Arsenal and Chelsea certainly have the financial wherewithal to pay the asking price, but they may prefer to sign players at more reasonable prices. It will be interesting to see how the situation develops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The opportunity to join a Premier League club is an exciting one for Fofana and he will certainly be hoping to secure a move to a big club.<\/p>\n<p><strong>La Liga club has verbal contract in place, but Chelsea want 18-G\/A creative wizard now<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta spoke to Chelsea&#8217;s Marc Cucurella. (Photo by Alex Pantling\/Getty Images) Lens striker Rayan Fofana is rumored to be on the verge of leaving the French team and Premier League club. Arsenal and Chelsea are interested in him. SportsBoom reports that Arsenal and Chelsea are leading the race to sign the talented [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-43710","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}