Chelsea and Manchester United both flirted with Leicester City defender Wout Faes earlier in his career, before he made his mark and became a key player for the Foxes.
That’s according to Gazet van Antwerpen, who cover the player today and how his career may have been very different.
The defender is set to be a key player for Belgium at Euro 2024 this summer after a busy season in which he has been a key player for Leicester as they’ve secured an immediate return to the Premier League.
He joined Leicester in a €17m deal in September 2022 but endured a difficult first season at the club as he struggled to step up to the level of the Premier League and the Foxes were eventually relegated.
This year has been far better for him and he’s now a key player for club and country, particularly the latter, with him only one of two players to play in all 14 games under Domenico Tedesco so far.
His international rise is seen as having come out of nowhere, but Faes has long been destined for the big time, with Manchester United and Chelsea both interested when he was a teenager at Anderlecht.
In fact, the Blues even sent him a signed shirt from David Luiz as a way of potentially swaying his thinking, although it was largely based on the fact they had a similar hairstyle.
However, he never really broke through, and his career instead took him to Stade Reims and then Leicester, where he has now established himself on the international stage too.
Whether he can shine in the Premier League this year remains to be seen, but perhaps if he can, Chelsea and Manchester United may be interested once again.
