Chelsea complete £70m deal for Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana

French centre-back signs seven-year contract with Stamford Bridge club

Leicester City's French defender Wesley Fofana defends during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium in London on August 13, 2022. - Arsenal won the game 4-2. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /

Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal is challenged by Wesley Fofana of Leicester City. Getty Images

Arsenal's Brazilian midfielder Gabriel Martinelli tangles with and Leicester City's French defender Wesley Fofana. AFP

Wesley Fofana joined Leicester City from French side Saint-Étienne in October 2020 for reported fee of £36.5 million. AFP

Wesley Fofana of Leicester City in action with Yoane Wissa of Brentford during the Premier League match at The King Power Stadium on August 6, 2022 in Leicester, United Kingdom. The match finished 2-2. Getty Images

Leicester City's Wesley Fofana during a warm up. Reuters

Leicester City's French defender Wesley Fofana runs with the ball during the English Premier League match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in London on May 19, 2022. The match finished 1-1. AFP

Leicester's Wesley Fofana, left, fights for the ball with Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech. AP Photo

Leicester City's Wesley Fofana. PA

Chelsea have secured their sixth major signing of the transfer window after completing a deal for Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.

Fofana has signed a seven-year contract with Chelsea, bringing to an end the club's protracted pursuit of the 21-year-old centre-back.

“The two last days have been really big days for me and I’m very happy,” Fofana told the club 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.”

The Blues first turned their attention to Fofana after missing out on fellow Frenchman Jules Kounde, who opted to join Barcelona from Sevilla at the start of August.

Chelsea had several bids for Fofana rejected by Leicester, leading to the player being excluded from games against Chelsea and Southampton and left to train with the Under-23 squad after expressing his unhappiness at not being allowed to leave.

It is understood that the agreed fee is in the region of an initial £70 million that could rise to £75m after add-ons.

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly said: “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 flew to the United States on Monday to undergo his medical, which, according to The Athletic, was to give Boehly “peace of mind”, having missed most of last season with a broken leg.

Fofana came through the youth system at Saint-Etienne and made his first-team debut in May 2019. After one full season in Ligue 1, he joined Leicester for a reported £36.5m in the summer of 2020, and was named their Young Player of the Season.

However, he suffered a broken fibula in a pre-season game in August 2021 and missed most of last season, returning to the Leicester first team in March.

Fofana's arrival takes Chelsea's summer spending to around £230m following the signings of England forward Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, Spain full-back Marc Cucurella from Brighton, English teenage midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa, and 18-year-old American goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina, who will join the club from Chicago Fire at the end of the MLS season in January.

Chelsea may have been busy in the transfer market, but they have also seen several first team players from last season leave this summer, including defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen, full-back Emerson Palmieri, and forward Timo Werner, while striker Romelu Lukaku, defender Malang Sarr, and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi have departed on loan.