Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali have welcomed Benoit Badiashile to Chelsea after the club signed the defender from AS Monaco in a deal worth £33.6million. The 21-year-old is the Blues' second signing of the January transfer window after David Datro Fofana joined from Molde for £10million.
Badiashile has signed a seven-and-a-half year deal at Stamford Bridge after completing his medical earlier this week in London. The France international's arrival comes as Graham Potter looks to bolster his backline amid a number of injuries.
Chelsea are currently without defenders Wesley Fofana, Reece James and Ben Chilwell. The Blues' latest signing is expected to join the first-team squad and compete for a starting spot.
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The west Londoners were heavily linked with RB Leipzig star Jokso Gvardiol in the summer but the young defender went on to pen an extension with the Bundesliga side, ruling out a switch. Instead, Chelsea signed Fofana from Leicester City and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli.
Despite their arrivals, the club have proceeded to add Badiashile to the club's ranks. And, the Chelsea chairman and co-controlling owner are pleased to have signed the Frenchman in the early stages of what is set to be a busy January window.
"We're delighted to welcome Benoit to Chelsea," Boehly and Eghbali said in a joint statement. "He's an excellent young player who has quickly established a strong reputation for himself and has a huge amount of experience for his young age. We are sure he will form an important part of our team in the years ahead."
After completing his move to Stamford Bridge, Badiashile has sent a message to Blues supporters. He said: "I’m very happy to be here at Chelsea. I’m so excited to start playing for this club. I can’t wait to see the fans and start playing in the best league in the world."
Badiashile won't be available to face Manchester City in the Premier League on Thursday, January 5, but he's expected to be unveiled to fans in attendance at Stamford Bridge. In the meantime, Chelsea are already said to be plotting their next signing of the January window.
football.london understands that the west Londoners are keen on signing a new striker, a central midfielder and a right wing-back. Boehly will be hoping that Potter can clinch a place in the top-four following the latest influx of new arrivals - although it seems an up-hill battle at the moment.
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