Cesc Fabregas believes Youssouf Fofana would thrive in the Premier League but ‘has heard’ the Arsenal and Manchester United target will join another club.
Arsenal and United have both expressed interest in signing Fofana, who is expected to leave Monaco this summer as he enters the final year of his contract at the Ligue 1 club.
Fofana has racked up 175 appearances for Monaco since joining from Strasbourg in a €15m move in 2020.
As well as flourishing for Monaco, who finished second behind PSG last season, the 25-year-old midfielder has also become a regular for the France national side and will travel to Germany with Didier Deschamps’ squad for Euro 2024.
Fabregas has heaped praise on Fofana, who he happened to play with right at the end of his career, but says Arsenal and Manchester United could be set for disappointment as they target the Frenchman.
Fofana has talked up the chances of a move away from Monaco this summer and Fabregas ‘has heard’ he will join AC Milan as a familiar face from French football – ex-Lille boss Paulo Fonseca – looks set to take over at the Serie A club.
‘I know him, I played with him,’ Fabregas said on the BBC’s Planet Premier League podcast when asked about Fofana and whether he could be heading to the English top-flight.
‘Funnily enough I never heard about Man United, I heard that he was going to AC Milan because [Paulo] Fonseca probably is going to go there from France and they know each other, so let’s see where he goes.
‘But he’s a very dynamic and strong player, good on the ball, a modern type of player, aggressive, can jump, he’s box to box. I really like Fofana and I think he fits very well with the Premier League style.’
Fofana recently admitted he had ‘spoken’ to Monaco about a summer move but insisted he would be ‘happy’ if he ended up staying put.
‘I have spoken about it with the hierarchy, it isn’t a secret,’ Fofana told a press conference. ‘We had exchanges and they agreed to accompany me in this new stage.
‘If [a move] doesn’t happen, I still have a year left and I will be happy to stay. We were in agreement that we would accompany each other in this process in which everyone should be a winner, be it me or the club.’
Monaco chief Thiago Scuro, meanwhile, has admitted the club are ‘open to selling’ Fofana after the midfielder enjoyed his ‘best season’ for Monaco.
‘There were good opportunities for him to leave last summer,’ he said. ‘It was his decision to stay because of his personal goals.
‘It was a very good decision for us because he had a very good and consistent season, for him too as it was probably his best season at Monaco.
‘He is probably one of the players that we are open to selling. We will see the opportunities that he has. It is still too early to make a decision.’
Arsenal are keen to bolster Mikel Arteta’s squad following back-to-back second-place finishes in the Premier League, while Manchester United’s new owners are working on deals despite uncertainty over the future of Erik ten Hag.
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