Benoit Badiashile has expressed his delight at signing a seven-and-a-half year contract at Chelsea and believes the way Graham Potter likes to play football suits him perfectly.
The 21-year-old was confirmed as the Blues' second January signing earlier in the week after signing for around £34million from AS Monaco. Despite interest from other clubs in the Premier League such as Wolves and Southampton, Badiashile had his heart set on Chelsea as soon as he was made aware of the Blues' interest, football.london has been told.
The French defender, standing at 6ft 4ins, is absolutely delighted that the move is now official, as he explains below. Badiashile also spoke about the honour of playing at a club where so many world-class players have been in the past.
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"It's a pleasure to be here at Chelsea," Badiashile explained to Chelsea's in-house media. "It's a huge club. I've followed the club for a long time now and I admire the history of the club. It is a pleasure to be able to play here."
He added: "Chelsea is a great club with great players. John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba are some of the players that I used to watch when I was younger. It's a real pleasure to be able to play at a club that has had the likes of these players in the changing room."
Badiashile was also in awe of the current squad, saying there are some "huge names" as he looked around the changing room for the first time. It seems as if his relationship with fellow France Under-21s defender Wesley Fofana may have had some sort of bearing on his decision to move to Stamford Bridge.
"He [Fofana] and I have played together for the national team," Badiashile added when looking at Fofana's Chelsea shirt. "And I'm really happy to be able to join him here.
"Then there are some huge names in this dressing room like Thiago Silva, a legend. He's a player I look up to and so I am really happy to have the opportunity to play next to him.
"Then there's N'Golo Kante, we all know what he has brought to the club. I look to try to bring composure, vitality, calmness and other attributes to the club to win trophies at this magnificent club."
Badiashile could make his senior debut for the club in tomorrow's FA Cup third-round tie away at Manchester City. Whether or not Potter deems him fit and ready to be chucked in at the Etihad Stadium is a different matter, however.
The French defender is an aggressive centre-back off the ball, but while in possession, he fits the bill for the modern-day central defender. Badiashile believes the way Potter likes his team to play suits his style perfectly.
He said: "On the pitch, I am very composed on the ball. I like to take the ball up the pitch, break down the lines of play and keep possession.
"The manager is someone that likes to keep possession and likes the team to move the ball up the pitch. I think this is a philosophy that suits me well and I am very proud to be able to work with him."
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