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.
![]() Fofana playing for Leicester City in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Wesley Tidjan Fofana[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 17 December 2000||
Place of birth | Marseille, France | ||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back[4] | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Chelsea | ||
Number | 33 | ||
Youth career | |||
2006–2008 | Repos Vitrolles | ||
2008–2010 | Bassin Minier | ||
2010–2011 | Pennes Mirabeau | ||
2011–2015 | Bel Air | ||
2015–2018 | Saint-Étienne | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2018–2019 | Saint-Étienne II | 21 | (0) |
2019–2020 | Saint-Étienne | 20 | (1) |
2020–2022 | Leicester City | 37 | (0) |
2022– | Chelsea | 15 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2020–2022 | France U21 | 7 | (0) |
2023– | France | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:33, 28 May 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 June 2023 |
Early and personal life
Fofana was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.[5] His father is Ivorian, whereas his mother is French.[6] One of six children, he started playing football at the age of six playing for Repos Vitrolles.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10]
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.[11] He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 league win over Nice on 18 May 2019.[12]
Leicester City
Fofana joined English Premier League club Leicester City on 2 October 2020, signing a five-year contract.[13] The transfer fee paid to Saint-Étienne was reported as up to £36.5 million.[14] On 15 May 2021, he played in the 2021 FA Cup Final, which Leicester won 1–0 for his first career honour in England.[15] He and teammate Hamza Choudhury both celebrated draped in the flag of Palestine, during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.[16]
On 21 May 2021, Fofana won Leicester City's Young Player of the Season award after being voted by the club's supporters.[17]
On 4 August 2021, during a pre-season friendly against Villarreal, Fofana suffered a broken leg following a challenge by Fer Niño.[18] 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.[19]
Chelsea
On 31 August 2022, Fofana joined Premier League club Chelsea on a seven-year contract[20] for a reported initial fee of £70 million, plus £5 million in add-ons.[21][22] After signing for Chelsea, Fofana criticised his former club Leicester, accusing them of issuing "false and misleading comments" during his protracted transfer.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25]
Fofana returned from injury on 18 February 2023, in a 0–1 home defeat against Southampton.[26] He scored his first ever Premier League goal against Leeds United on 4 March, in a 1–0 home victory.[27] On 18 July 2023, Chelsea revealed that Fofana had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and had undergone a surgery.[28]
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.[29] However, he was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 28 May 2023[30]
Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Saint-Étienne | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
Total | 20 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 2 | ||
Leicester City | 2020–21 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[lower-alpha 3] | 0 | 38 | 0 |
2021–22 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 4] | 1 | 12 | 1 | |
2022–23 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Total | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 52 | 1 | ||
Chelsea | 2022–23 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5[lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 20 | 2 |
Career total | 72 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 102 | 5 |
- Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
- Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
References
- "2022/23 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- "Wesley Fofana: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- "Wesley Fofana". Chelsea Football Club. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- "Wesley Fofana: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- "Wesley Fofana". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- "France ou Côte d'Ivoire? La réponse de Wesley Fofana est tombée !". 18 November 2021.
- Hendrix, Hale (29 October 2020). "Wesley Fofana Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts". LifeBogger. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- Blackwell, Jordan (23 April 2021). "Brendan Rodgers to protect 'remarkable' Wesley Fofana during Ramadan". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- "Wesley Fofana: Leicester defender thanks Premier League after being allowed to break Ramadan fast mid-game". Sky Sports.
- "Leicester City soccer players raise Palestinian flag after UK cup victory". Times of Israel. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- @ASSEofficiel. "Wesley Fofana signe professionnel". ASSE.fr.
- "AS Saint-Etienne - OGC Nice (3-0) - Saison 2018/2019 - Ligue 1 Conforama". www.lfp.fr.
- "Wesley Fofana: Leicester sign French defender from Saint-Etienne on five-year contract". BBC Sport. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- Romano, Fabrizio (29 September 2020). "Leicester agree £36.5m deal to sign Wesley Fofana from St Etienne". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- "Chelsea 0-1 Leicester: Foxes lift FA Cup". UEFA. 15 May 2021.
- Donoghue, Eamon (15 May 2021). "Leicester duo celebrate FA Cup win with Palestine flag". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- "Tielemans Scoops Player Of The Season Double". Leicester City F.C. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- "Wesley Fofana: Leicester City defender suffers broken leg in friendly". BBC Sport. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- "Wesley Fofana marks Leicester comeback with decisive goal at Rennes". The Guardian. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "Fofana signs for Chelsea". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- "Why 'generational talent' Wesley Fofana could prove to be a £70m bargain for Chelsea". Telegraph. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- "Wesley Fofana: Chelsea complete signing of Leicester's French defender in £75m deal". SkySports. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- "Wesley Fofana: Defender criticises former club Leicester City after Chelsea move". BBC Sport. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- "Substitute Kai Havertz scored a late winner as Chelsea recovered to record a dramatic victory over West Ham". BBC Sport. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- "Chelsea 3-0 AC Milan: Blues kickstart Champions League campaign with convincing win over Italian champions". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- "Chelsea 0-1 Southampton: James Ward-Prowse free-kick deepens gloom for Graham Potter". BBC Sport. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- "Chelsea 1-0 Leeds United: Wesley Fofana scores to ease pressure on Graham Potter". BBC Sport. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- "Wesley fofana injury update". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- "La liste des vingt-trois Bleus". FFF (in French). 16 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- Wesley Fofana at Soccerway
- "Wesley Fofana". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- "Mbappé suffers ankle injury as PSG beat 10-man Saint-Étienne to lift French Cup". The Guardian. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021). "Chelsea 0–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- "IFFHS".
External links

- Profile at the Chelsea F.C. website
- Wesley Fofana at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Wesley Fofana – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Wesley Fofana at Premier League