Chelsea confirm signing of Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana

Chelsea have confirmed that they have signed Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana on a seven-year deal.

For a number of weeks, the Blues have been heavily linked with the Frenchman, whose contract at the King Power Stadium did not expire until 2027.

However, with Thomas Tuchel desperate to strengthen his backline, Chelsea's co-owner and interim sporting director Todd Boehly has been prepared to back his head coach in the transfer market.

Although Leicester rejected a number of bids for Fofana in the region of £60m and £70m, it was widely claimed that the 21-year-old had his heart set on a transfer to Stamford Bridge.

At a time when Fofana has been withdrawn from Brendan Rodgers's first-team squad, reports emerged at the weekend that the relevant parties had agreed terms over a fee.

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With personal terms having already been finalised, a medical took place at the start of the week, putting Chelsea in a position to confirm the transfer on Wednesday afternoon.

While a fee has not been disclosed, journalist John Percy of The Telegraph says that Leicester will receive £70m plus adds-ons.

Speaking to the club's official website, Fofana said: "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."

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Boehly added: "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 becomes the fifth first-team signing made by Chelsea this summer, joining Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Carney Chukwuemeka and Raheem Sterling.

Tuchel is also keen to bring in a new centre-forward before Thursday's deadline with Barcelona forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seemingly most likely to move to the Blues.

Meanwhile, Fofana has spent just under two years at Leicester, making a total of 52 appearances in all competitions.

While the centre-back missed the majority of 2021-22 with a broken leg, he returned in March and has since made 14 competitive outings.