Chelsea recruit Wesley Fofana has been hard at work with his new team-mates ahead of a possible debut this weekend.
One of the summer’s longest-running transfer sagas was finally brought to an official close on the penultimate day of the window, with Fofana arriving at Stamford Bridge in a huge deal that could be worth as much as £75million.
The French Under-21 international had been Thomas Tuchel’s top defensive target in the latter half of the summer, with the German having already signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli to help recover from the losses of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers.
However, troubled Leicester played hardball over one of their prized assets, who made his frustration with the Foxes and manager Brendan Rodgers abundantly apparent with a parting shot on social media.
Fofana was nevertheless delighted to make the switch to Stamford Bridge, revealing that Chelsea were the club he supported as a boy as he confirmed his admiration for Didier Drogba and desire to emulate the likes of top French Blues alumni such as Marcel Desailly and Claude Makelele, plus current midfield favourite N’Golo Kante.
“It’s a dream for me to be here,” Fofana said on Chelsea TV. “It is incredible. I am very happy.
“I like Chelsea because of Drogba. I was a very big fan of Drogba and watched all his games. I used to play no9 when I was young. I did it because I wanted to be like him but after I realised it is not for me the no9 and went back. I remember [watching him in] the final of the Champions League.
“I also like [N’Golo] Kante. I like the personality of the guy. He is a nice guy. I hope to be like the legends like [Marcel] Desailly and [Claude] Makelele. I hope in 20 years that I will have a banner at Stamford Bridge like them.
“I will give everything to the club because this is my club. I hope to give everything for the fans. I am very excited to get to training.”
Fofana trained with Chelsea for the first time on Wednesday morning and has continued to put the effort in at Cobham since as he eyes a swift debut in Saturday’s London derby with West Ham at Stamford Bridge, where Tuchel’s misfiring side will attempt to bounce back from another disappointing loss at Southampton.
The player is fit having had a full pre-season with Leicester, though he was left out of Rodgers’ matchday squads in his final days at the King Power Stadium amid the significant distractions presented by the ongoing talks with Chelsea.
Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page to see the first images of Wesley Fofana in Chelsea training!
