Chelsea have finally completed the signing of Wesley Fofana from Leicester City, bringing an end to a rumbling saga.
Leicester were reluctant to sell the Frenchman but finally ceded as the 21-year-old wanted a move to a bigger club in order to boost his chances of making the French squad for the Qatar World Cup.
Financial details were not disclosed by either club but he reportedly cost Londoners 70 million pounds. Chelsea seems to be betting on his upside after offering Wesley Fofana a seven-year contract.
He joins fellow newcomers Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cururella in defence during this transfer window.
After making the switch to the Premier League in October 2020, from Ligue 1 side St Etienne for a reported fee of up to 36.5 million pounds, he made 52 appearances in all competitions for Leicester including 37 in the league and 11 across two European campaigns.
In his debut 2020-21 season, he was named as the club’s Young Player of the Year after helping Leicester win their first FA Cup.
“Wesley is a hugely promising defender who has already proven his quality in the Premier League at a young age,” Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly said.
“We are delighted we were able to bring one of Europe’s most exciting talents to Chelsea and further strengthen that area of our squad, both for this season and many more to come.”
“The two last days have been really big days for me and I’m very happy,” Fofana told the club’s website.
“I trained this morning with the team and it’s a dream for me. I’m very excited to start playing games for the fans and the club.
“I’m here to win trophies – the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup (League Cup), everything… The club is built to win trophies so I’m here to continue that.”
Chelsea will be hoping that Fofana can help fix the defence which has underpeformed this season.