Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Wesley Fofana from Leicester in an £80m deal.
The Blues have been on the hunt to boost their centre-back ranks after Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen departed early in the summer. They have managed to pin Frenchman Fofana down to a seven-year contract, having already signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.
France under 21 international Fofana made 52 appearances for the Foxes since arriving from St Etienne in 2020 for almost £40m. He helped them win the FA Cup the following year, but the 21 year-old made himself unpopular with the manner of his departure.
After he failed to show up for a training session, he was banished to the under 23s. He featured in Leicester's first two Premier League matches of the season, against Brentford and Arsenal but was left out of defeats to Southampton and Chelsea when it became clear he wanted to leave.
Fofana said: "The two last days have been really big days for me and I’m very happy. 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, everything. I came here to win and the club is built to win trophies so I’m here to continue that."
Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly added : "Wesley is a hugely promising defender who has already proven his quality in the Premier League at a young age. 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."
Chelsea have already splashed the cash this summer with Raheem Sterling, Koulibaly, Gabriel Sloina, Carney Chukwuemeka, Marc Cucurella and Cesare Casadei already signed.
Leicester City confirmed the deal. A statement read: "Leicester City have reached an agreement with Chelsea for the transfer of Wesley Fofana for an undisclosed fee. He departs with the thanks of everyone at Leicester City and the Club’s best wishes for the next phase of his career."
