There's undoubtedly a perception the transfer market has reached a new level of farce this year given some of the deals struck and others that were even touted in the first place.
Chelsea have rarely been far from the news, whether they've missed out on players (of which there have been many) or perhaps overpaid.
The £62million deal that brought Marc Cucurella to Stamford Bridge was one that especially courted bemusement, with fans, pundits and reporters alike surprised by the transfer fee. Even Manchester City walked away from talks with Brighton and Hove Albion when they couldn't sign the versatile left-back for £30m.
Wesley Fofana is the latest Chelsea pursuit to hog the headlines and, if they do manage to sign the French defender, he's going to be another hugely expensive acquisition.
Reports on Thursday suggested Chelsea are readying a fourth bid after Tuesday's apparent offer of an initial £60m was rejected. While that bid supposedly included add-ons of £10m, the reality of the full fee hitting £70m was said to be unlikely. Leicester value him at £80m.
Fofana's head has clearly already been turned, with Brendan Rodgers confirming on Thursday he is set to leave the defender out again on Saturday as the Foxes go to, yes, you guessed it, Chelsea.
But once again, the Blues are chasing a target who will cost an outrageous amount of money, so what do they see in Fofana that makes him worth over £70m?
The ideal fall-back option?
Because his first Premier League campaign was so impressive, it's easy to forget how inexperienced Fofana actually is.
He'd only played 20 Ligue 1 games for Saint-Etienne prior to joining Leicester for the 2020-21 season, and although he went on to feature 28 times in the Premier League that campaign, he hardly appeared at all last term.
A broken leg and medial ligament damage sustained during a pre-season friendly against Valencia in August 2021 ruled Fofana out until April, robbing him of several crucial months in his development.
He played seven times between April and the end of the last Premier League season, and those outings seemingly did enough to convince Chelsea he remains a credible option.
Not that Fofana was necessarily their first choice. Chelsea missed out on Matthijs de Ligt and Jules Kounde in pre-season, with the inability to land the latter proving frustrating for the Blues given their attempts to sign him last year as well.
Stylistically, however, Fofana could arguably be better suited than those two players because he is blessed with similar key attributes to Kounde but is already accustomed to playing in a back three like De Ligt, and yet he is quicker than the Dutchman.
Of course, Fofana doesn't quite have the same level of experience as the other two, even if all three are fairly similar ages, but with the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva already at Chelsea, a bit more youthful exuberance shouldn't be an issue.
Archetypal modern centre-back
The role of the centre-back in modern football seems to get more important every season. No longer are they just brutish obstacles deployed with the aim of disrupting opponents.
Sure, they're still expected to perform that function, but more and more they're comparable to playmakers, whether their strengths relate to passing or ability on the ball.
Fofana certainly shouldn't be accused of being a poor passer. After all, during the 2020-21 season he had a pass completion of 86.4 per cent and averaged 20.9 forward passes per 90 minutes – while that isn't up there with the highest recorded by centre-backs (minimum 1,000 minutes played), as Aymeric Laporte led the way (29.1), he was still above average (19.1).
However, it was in ball progression and carrying where Fofana stood out, hence why he appears to be a fine alternative to Kounde, whose key strength was similar.
Again, going back to the 2020-21 season due to Fofana's lack of minutes last term, the France Under-21 international ranked only behind Ruben Dias (824), Harry Maguire (685) and Adam Webster (596) among centre-backs with his 585 carries.
This comfort on the ball translated to him carrying it further (6,261.8 metres) than all but five centre-backs over the course of the season as well, while he also clearly played an important role in getting Leicester up the pitch.
Ball progression is seen as a major responsibility for the modern centre-back, particularly in possession-based systems, and Fofana carried possession 3,591.8m up the pitch in his debut season, the fourth-most among central defenders in the Premier League.
In an even more forward-thinking team, Fofana's ability to progress play up the pitch quickly with the ball at his feet should be an asset to Chelsea.
Whether he represents great value at £70m or £80m is another matter and can only be conclusively answered in hindsight. But given his dynamic skillset, it's difficult to argue against him being the archetypal modern centre-back, and his age means he could conceivably be a fixture in the team for over a decade.
That would certainly constitute value for money.
Luis Enrique confident PSG are in perfect form with three titles up for grabs
Paris Saint-Germain can wrap up the Ligue 1 title this weekend, and with the Champions League and Coupe de France still to play for, they are in the best possible form, according to manager Luis Enrique.
PSG host relegation battling Le Havre on Saturday, and a win will secure the league title with three games still to play, leaving them to concentrate on a Champions League semi-final with Borussia Dortmund and the cup final against Lyon.
"I think we are heading into the final phase of the season in great form," said Luis Enrique.
"I wouldn't have imagined this scenario going as positively as this, but what happens in the future is what happens. I would say we are in fantastic form in every way. We have almost every player available. Our supporters are very happy.
"The club has so much ambition to achieve something else. It is a really attractive end to the season, which we are motivated for, and we will continue to fight to achieve all our targets."
'Did anyone expect us to be champions?' – Klopp not ready to assess final season at Anfield
Jurgen Klopp refused to assess his final season at Liverpool just yet, despite the campaign seemingly starting to fizzle out.
Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby dealt a huge blow to Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes.
The Reds are now three points clear of leaders Arsenal, while they are two points behind second-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand.
Klopp has just four matches left of his Liverpool tenure, though he is not ready to assess the final season of his stint just yet.
"I would not assess it now. I have no clue, so I am not in the mood to give up, wave the white flag kind of thing," he said ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Ham.
"I just think we have to look after ourselves; just make sure that we play better football. I said after the game 'why should a team who play like us against Everton be champions?' But the football we played before, a lot of good stuff. In January we looked invincible, with a depleted squad. Everybody went in the same direction, go for it, squeezed out results.
"So, we deserve to be where we are. I want us to use the situation, don't feel the pressure, for whatever reason it is. The boys are incredible footballers and I see it as my job to create that atmosphere where they can be the best versions of themselves – and that's obviously how I have failed.
"I don't know how it happened, but I didn't see anything of what I wanted us to be in the Everton game."
Klopp did, though, reminded the media that Liverpool have performed above expectations.
"Did anyone expect us to become champions at the start of the season? No, but it developed in this direction," Klopp added.
"Just to explain how different it is. We cannot go back to the point where we say 'yeah, well [qualifying for the Champions League] is good enough'. It is very good, but because we were so close, we are very, very disappointed in this moment in time. We cannot change that."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
West Ham – Jarrod Bowen
Bowen has scored in both of West Ham’s meetings with Liverpool so far this season – the only Hammers player to score in three different games against the Reds in a single campaign is Geoff Hurst in 1964-65.
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Salah has received criticism for his recent form, but he has scored 11 goals for Liverpool against West Ham in all competitions, only netting more against Manchester United (14) in his Reds career.
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
West Ham have won just one of their last eight Premier League home games (D5 L2), beating Brentford 4-2 in February. They lost against Fulham last time out but haven’t lost consecutive home league games since a run of three in November/December 2022.
Liverpool have already beaten West Ham 3-1 in the Premier League and 5-1 in the League Cup so far this season. This is the 11th different campaign in which they have faced the Hammers 3+ times, but they have never managed to beat them three times in any of the previous 10.
Since keeping back-to-back clean sheets against Liverpool in the 2015-16 campaign, West Ham have conceded at least once in each of their last 15 against the Reds, conceding multiple goals in 12 of those games.
Liverpool have only won more Premier League games against Crystal Palace (13) than they have against West Ham (12) under Klopp.
West Ham have lost 12 of their last 14 Premier League games against Liverpool, with both exceptions in this run coming at home (1-1 in February 2019, 3-2 in November 2021).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
West Ham – 21.7%
Liverpool – 52.5%
Draw – 25.8%
Tuchel insists Bayern Munich coach search not affecting team's focus
Bayern Munich's search for coach Thomas Tuchel's successor is not distracting the team from their preparations for next week's Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid or their final Bundesliga matches.
That was the vow from Tuchel before Bayern first face Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday with the league title already secured by Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern will part ways with Tuchel at the end of a disappointing domestic season, a year earlier than his contract.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick confirmed this week there had been contact with Bayern while several other coaches have been linked with the club.
Tuchel, however, said the team was shutting out any such distractions as they chase a spot in the Champions League final.
"In the next 11 days it can only be football and the goals we can still reach," Tuchel told a press conference.
"We want to collect points [in the Bundesliga] to get the best result and reach the Champions League final.
"For anything else, there is just no capacity at the moment, whether it is comfortable or uncomfortable despite the many issues."
With no chance of domestic silverware and Bayern battling to hold on to second place, three points ahead of third-placed Stuttgart whom they face in 10 days, Tuchel said it was clear Tuesday's game against Real Madrid was on everyone's mind already.
"I can accept and it is important that we all accept it that there is this background noise against Frankfurt," Tuchel said.
"We don't have to tell ourselves a fairytale that we are only thinking 100% about Eintracht.
"There is this background noise that the Real Madrid game plays a role. When I get my coffee in the morning people don't say 'good luck for tomorrow' they say 'good luck for Tuesday' to me."
Bayern still have some injury concerns for the coming games with Dayot Upamecano doubtful after twisting an ankle in training and Leroy Sane racing to get fit in time for Tuesday.
Tuchel said: "We have a test [against Frankfurt] and either we are distracted or we find solutions. Put on ear plugs or headphones and study for the test. That is my task."
The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss was also asked about over 12,000 Bayern supporters signing a petition asking for him to remain at the club.
"Even though this topic is good for me when they [the fans] wish you to stay, it's not something that is a priority and it isn't allowed to be a priority," he said.
"Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant, I don't allow myself to be influenced by it. We're only focusing on every day counting towards our goals and there is no exception here.
"This question is like the neighbour that is noisy at three in the morning, if we're honest! I'll set my headphones to noise-cancelling mode and ignore that.
"This topic won't help me on Saturday and won't help me on Tuesday - and it is not my topic."
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