Ritabrata Banerjee

Fofana joins Chelsea from Leicester City in record-breaking £75m transfer

Chelsea have completed the signing of Wesley Fofana from Leicester City for a reported record fee of £75 million ($88m) including add-ons.

The Frenchman moves to Stamford Bridge
Highest fee Chelsea have paid for a defender
Fofana could debut against West Ham

WHAT HAPPENED? The 21-year-old defender joins the Blues from Leicester on a seven-year contract. He will partner Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva in Thomas Tuchel's three-man defence at Chelsea. The final deal sees Fofana become the most expensive defensive signing in the Blues' history, breaking the previous record set by Marc Cucurella - who joined from Brighton for £62m earlier in the window.

WHAT THEY SAID: Fofana told Chelsea's official website after the announcement: "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 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."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Frenchman joined Leicester City in 2020 and was a regular starter under Brendan Rodgers in his maiden season. He missed the majority of the 2021-22 campaign after fracturing his ankle but returned for full fitness in March and will be ready to integrate straight into the Chelsea squad.

He played in 52 matches in total for Leicester, 37 of which came in the Premier League.