Chelsea sign the third most expensive centre-back in history
Chelsea announced the arrival of Fofana who joins from Leicester for 82 million euros. Tüchel completes his defense after bringing in Koulibaly and Cucurella.
For Wesley Fofana, it had to be Chelsea. After endless offers rejected by Leicester City, the Blues were finally able to announce the signing of the central defender, who goes to Stamford Bridge in exchange of 75 million pounds, about 82 million euros, with bonuses included.
The 21-year-old’s arrival means that Thomas Tüchel has at last completed the much-needed reconstruction of his defence after losing Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen earlier this summer. Prior to their moves to Spain’s top two - Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively, both had been pivotal to the German coach’s defence. He was forced to replace them and subsequently brought in Koulibaly, Cucurella and now Fofana.
The French defender meanwhile, did everything he could to make his move to Chelsea happen. And for his efforts, he was cast aside from the dynamics of the first team and forced to train with Leicester’s Under-23s. Foxes manager Brendan Rodgers, recognize that it was not a an ideal situation for the club or the player, telling reporters, “It has been a challenging situation for him.”
Fofana up there with Maguire and Van Dijk
The exorbitant transfer fee raised some eyebrows in the football world but Fofana is now the third most expensive defender in football history, joining him on the select list are Virgil van Dijk, who cost Liverpool €88 million, and Harry Maguire, who cost Manchester United €93 million.