Chelsea have completed the signing of defender Wesley Fofana from Leicester City for a fee of £70m/€81m which could rise to £80m/€93m, as the defender signs a seven-year contract.
Signing a contract with the Blues until June 2029, Fofana gives Chelsea a long-term option in defense with the 21-year-old expected to have a bright future in the game.
The Frenchman was Chelsea’s priority target in defense and they were persistent, initially beating rival Paris Saint-Germain and then remaining tough on negotiations.
Fofana was also adamant about the move as he wanted to build his standing and improve ahead of the World Cup, with the player hoping to break into the France national team.
Chelsea pay a lot for the Leicester defender
Leicester initially rejected two offers from Chelsea for Fofana and were adamant in their desire for a world record defender if he were to move to Stamford Bridge.
They were included in the world record transfer when Harry Maguire moved to Manchester United for £80m in 2019, and Leicester hoped to top that.
However, it has become clear that this is not going to happen and that they are only going to come close, and with Fofana keen to leave, completing the deal has become a little easier for Chelsea.
The timing of the transfer gives Leicester a few days to make some subsequent moves and bring in a suitable replacement for Fofana.
So far, Leicester are the only Premier League club not to sign a deal this summer, and that is likely to change as the transfer deadline approaches.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are the biggest spenders in Europe and could break the record for most money spent in a single window ever if they meet their other goals after Fofana.
Fofana became his third defensive signing of the year after bringing in Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli and Marc Cucurella from Brighton earlier.
The Blues are not over yet as they are targeting a new striker as well as another winger, with talks continuing for Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Everton’s Anthony Gordon.
