Wesley Fofana (footballer)

Wesley Fofana (footballer)
Wesley Tidjan Fofana (born 17 December 2000) is a
French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Chelsea and the France national team.
Early and personal life
Fofana was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. His father is Ivorian, whereas his mother is French. One of six children, he started playing football at the age of six playing for Repos Vitrolles.
Fofana is Muslim. On 22 April 2021, he was substituted on the hour mark during Leicester's 3–0 win against West Bromwich Albion, while Fofana was daytime fasting for the month-long Islamic Ramadan. In the next match against Crystal Palace, the game was paused after the half-hour mark to allow Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyaté to have some fluids to break their Ramadan fast.
Fofana showed his support for the Palestinians after winning the 2021 English FA Cup Final by waving a large Palestinian flag, along with fellow Leicester City teammate Hamza Choudhury, during their team celebrations that took place amidst the 2021 Israeli-Palestinian clashes in May 2021.
Club career
Saint-Étienne
Having been in the youth system since 2015, Fofana signed his first professional contract with Saint-Étienne on 15 May 2018. He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 league win over Nice on 18 May 2019.
Leicester City
Fofana joined English Premier League club Leicester City on 2 October 2020, signing a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Saint-Étienne was reported as up to £36.5 million. On 15 May 2021, he played in the 2021 FA Cup Final, which Leicester won 1–0 for his first career honour in England. He and teammate Hamza Choudhury both celebrated draped in the flag of Palestine, during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.
On 21 May 2021, Fofana won Leicester City's Young Player of the Season award after being voted by the club's supporters.
On 4 August 2021, during a pre-season friendly against Villarreal, Fofana suffered a broken leg following a challenge by Fer Niño. On 17 March 2022, Fofana played his first match since his injury, scoring in a 2–1 defeat to Stade Rennais in the UEFA Europa Conference League which secured Leicester's progress to the next round on a 3–2 aggregate score.
Chelsea
On 31 August 2022, Fofana joined Premier League club Chelsea on a seven-year contract for a reported initial fee of £70 million, plus £5 million in add-ons. After signing for Chelsea, Fofana criticised his former club Leicester, accusing them of issuing "false and misleading comments" during his protracted transfer. On 3 September, he made his debut for the club in a 2–1 win at home against West Ham United in the Premier League. He scored his first goal for Chelsea on 5 October in a Champions League 3–0 victory against AC Milan at Stamford Bridge, but suffered a major knee injury after 38 minutes, forcing him to be substituted off, and was ruled out until February.
Fofana returned from injury on 18 February 2023, in a 0–1 home defeat against Southampton. He scored his first ever Premier League goal against Leeds United on 4 March, in a 1–0 home victory. On 18 July 2023, Chelsea revealed that Fofana had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and had undergone a surgery.
International career
In March 2023, Fofana received his first call-up to the France senior national team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. However, he was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Saint-Étienne
Coupe de France runner-up: 2019–20
Leicester City
FA Cup: 2020–21
Individual
IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2020
References
External links
Profile at the Chelsea F.C. website
2000 births
Living people
Footballers from Marseille
French men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
AS Saint-Étienne players
Leicester City F.C. players
Chelsea F.C. players
Championnat National 3 players
Championnat National 2 players
Ligue 1 players
Premier League players
France men's under-21 international footballers
France men's international footballers
French expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in England
French expatriate sportspeople in England
French Muslims
French sportspeople of Ivorian descent