Wesley Fofana, Youri Tielemans, James Maddison – how Leicester City transfer sagas could end

Leicester City are approaching the final fortnight of the transfer window with three of their leading stars targeted by Premier League rivals.

City are already in a predicament this transfer window. Their plans to balance their squad and their finances by offloading fringe players have not come to fruition, and so their business so far has been limited to the arrival of a third-choice goalkeeper.

Even if they were to thrash out deals and move players on quickly over the next two weeks, they have little time to get players in, with manager Brendan Rodgers acknowledging that it gets more difficult by the day. As the transfer window ticks on, fewer of City’s shortlisted targets will be available, either because they have already moved on, or because their clubs are less willing to part with them.

And so to have three players targeted by other clubs furthers City’s problem, particularly if it causes internal friction. James Maddison, Youri Tielemans, and Wesley Fofana are the trio being looked at, by Newcastle, Arsenal, and Chelsea respectively. Here’s a look at what is likely to happen to them before the end of September 1.

Of the three, Maddison is most likely to stay put. Targeted by Newcastle as they looked to flash their new wealth with a marquee summer signing, following on from the recruitment of Bruno Guimaraes in January, the Magpies have had two bids rejected.

That they felt confident enough to move for Maddison and make two offers suggests they were given an indication of interest on the attacking midfielder’s part. But that the noise around a potential deal has gone quiet over the past week suggests they are unlikely to return with another bid.

Rodgers said publicly that the first bid covered “three quarters of