Chelsea have announced the signing of French defender Wesley Fofana from Leicester City in a deal worth up to £75 million.
The move has lingered for most of the summer transfer window but has finally come to an end with the 21-year-old penning a seven-year contract with the Blues.
Per The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Blues paid a fixed £69.5m fee with no add-ons for Fofana, who only joined the Foxes in 2020.
The Frenchman, who reportedly skipped training sessions in a bid to force a move to Stamford Bridge, expressed his delight at joining a club of Chelsea’s stature and aims to add to the club’s winning mentality.
“The two last days have been really big days for me and I’m very happy,” Fofana said via the Chelsea official 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, everything. I came here to win and the club is built to win trophies so I’m here to continue that.”
Fofana joins Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella as the club’s latest defensive reinforcements as Thomas Tuchel continues to bolster his squad under the new Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium ownership.
Chelsea had seen three previous bids for the highly-rated defender rebuffed by Leicester, who were keen on keeping their prized asset, before finally reaching an agreement with the Midlands outfit.
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.”
Fofana made 52 appearances for Leicester since his £36.5m move from Saint-Etienne two years ago and was pivotal in helping the Foxes clinch a first-ever FA Cup title as they beat Chelsea 1-0 in the 2020-21 final.
