Chelsea complete £70m transfer of Wesley Fofana from Leicester City

Wesley Fofana’s protracted transfer saga is over after he officially became a Chelsea player in a £70million deal.

Fofana has agreed a seven-year deal with the west London outfit with Thomas Tuchel finally landing his defensive target.

After completing his move, Fofana described his move to Stamford Bridge as a ‘dream’ and that he is raring to get going alongside his new team-mates.

He told the club’s official website: ‘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 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.’

He’s signed a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge and could make his debut at the weekend

He becomes Thomas Tuchel’s (left) sixth summer signing – which includes Raheem Sterling (R)

Fofana has revealed that wing-back Reece James tried his best to move the deal along last month on Instagram.

‘Reece James messaged me on Instagram one month ago: “You come and play with me at right-back?” I like this, it’s good for my confidence. He’s my guy now,’ Fofana said.

‘I am a very big fan of [Didier] Drogba. I watch every game and I remember the UEFA Champions final.’ 

He added that he ‘loves the personality’ of N’Golo Kante and he cannot wait to get to work with the ‘nice guy’ in midfield. 

The centre-back’s future had been a source of contention for weeks after the Blues interest became clear in the former Leicester City star. 

The 21-year-old’s switch to Stamford Bridge has taken some time to negotiate, with Leicester rejecting multiple offers in recent weeks.

However, the Foxes finally accepted a fee in the region of £70m on Friday with the deal completed on the penultimate day of the summer transfer window, which shuts on Thursday.

He could make his debut at the weekend when Chelsea host bitter rivals West Ham in the Premier League.

With his arrival, the France Under 21-international becomes Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel’s sixth summer signing after Gabriel Slonina, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kalidou Koulibaly, Raheem Sterling and Marc Cucurella.

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly was delighted to add more depth in defence for the club, saying: ‘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 completed a medical in New York before joining the Blues to emphasise he is fully fit

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly wanted to make sure that there are no further issues with the transfer after having to go through lengthy negotiations to land Fofana this summer

Fofana flew to New York on Sunday to undergo a thorough medical with Chelsea owner Todd Boehly wanting further peace of mind after the Frenchman missed seven months of last season with a broken leg and dislocated ankle.

He returned to Leicester’s starting XI in the final weeks of the campaign, and had shown no ill-effects of his injury, but it appears that Boehly wanted to take a detailed look at his current condition before making Fofana one of the most expensive defenders in Premier League history.

Fofana started Leicester’s opening two games of this season, but was then left out of the team’s home clash with Southampton earlier this month as Brendan Rodgers claimed he was not in the right frame of mind to play.

He was once again omitted from the squad when Leicester played Chelsea on Saturday, having been made to train with the Under 23s in the build-up to that match.

Fofana missed the majority of last season with a broken leg and dislocated ankle