Fosse Posse Roundtable: Hold or Sell?

Yesterday, Leicester City fans were hoping for a big, mood boosting win. Instead, this.

To follow up on the disappointment, Brendan Rogders confirmed that Chelsea has made another bid for Wesley Fofana (as ever, well under the asking price) and it had been rejected.

That could either be an added worry or an extra disappointment, depending on your view, which is why I ask:

Should the Foxes sell Wesley Fofana?

Jack: I can’t promise that there’s no spite in this answer, but I think at this point we have to hold onto him. Recruitment has clearly been an issue, especially with no one currently employed to do it, and the other options aren’t good enough. I don’t trust them to replace him, and at this point in the window we’ll be spending at least half of what we get in for him. We can try again in January (and he will) or next summer, and obviously we have to sell eventually, but I don’t think they can now.

Sucks for Wes, but then I doubt he signed that 5 year deal under duress.

Jake: IF Chelsea or another club meet our valuation and IF we have a replacement or two lined up, then I say let him go. As good as he is, and he is legitimately great, our problems run deeper than a single player and if we could address those problems with players who actually want to be here? So much the better.

Unless both of those conditions are met, he stays. Perhaps this would be an opportunity to learn what it means to sign a 5-year contract and not negotiate a release clause.

Tanner: I think Chelsea’s last offer was 65 million? IF that is the case and IF we have a replacement lined up, get him out. His bad attitude is annoying, and Leicester have always been a team, not a group of individuals. That is what used to make us great. So yeah, if we can make some money and get a suitable replacement then let him go.

However, if either one of those ifs aren’t met, keep him. He’s still a good player, and just signed a 5 year contract that we offered him when he had his leg snapped in half. If he wanted to leave so badly he shouldn’t have signed the deal.

So I guess my answer is, if the conditions are met that will benefit us as a squad, sell him.

Courtney: When Brendan Rodgers likes a player he really makes sure they’re in the starting line up, even when form is in question. Rodgers likes Wes. So if he left him out of the squad then I have to assume Fofana was acting a brat behind the scenes. When I watched my first Leicester match I noticed there weren’t any big egos on the team. I liked that.

My vote is to let him go. Even if we can’t get in a replacement before the window closes. He’s good, but not worth the distraction he causes.

Sidd: Snide answer: play him against Chelsea and then sell him.

Otherwise, I’ve gotten to the point where I’m fine selling him if Chelsea meets the valuation. We knew what his approach was when we got him from St. Etienne, and unfortunately the market is such that if we want to keep attracting players of his caliber and ambition it probably is better to let him go. I have loved having him play for Leicester, but was already expecting to him to leave next summer so pushing it up is fine for me.

But while I agree with everyone else that selling him and then continuing to start Amartey is a terrible terrible not good idea, I also wouldn’t want the cash to be wasted with a tight deadline and no recruitment strategy of note. A tough decision, but think I would rather hold the cash and spend it next summer when a huge squad update will be needed.

So that’s the Fosse Posse opinion. What do you think; hold or sell?