Virgil van Dijk claim made over Wesley Fofana after Premier League return vs Manchester United

Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana has been compared to Virgil van Dijk and Rio Ferdinand amid praise by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp.

The centre-back made his first Premier League start of the season against Manchester United on Saturday. He played the full 90 minutes after suffering a broken leg and ankle ligament damage in pre-season.

Fofana caught eyes in his first season in the Premier League last year, helping City to lift the FA Cup for the first time in their history. His absence has been felt by the club this season, with his return, along with fellow centre-back Jonny Evans, proving to be a massive boost for Brendan Rodgers.

The game at Old Trafford was the first time the duo had started together since the FA Cup final in May, and Redknapp highlighted the areas in which Fofana will help his side in their remaining games of the season.

“Fofana picked up that horrendous injury at the start of the season, you knew it would cost Leicester because he is brilliant in both boxes, he attacks the ball, is a great header of the ball,” Redknapp told Sky Sports before the match. “We spoke a lot about Leicester’s inadequacies from set-piece, and one of those reasons is because Fofana and Evans have not been playing very often.

“Fofana is one of those when you see a Rio Ferdinand coming through, a Virgil Van Dijk, he is in that quality. He is a great athlete, a great footballer, he can play for any club he wants to in the future, he is an exceptional talent.”

Fofana made his comeback in the UEFA Conference League against Rennes. He could feature in the competition again this week as City host PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their quarter-final on Thursday.