Chelsea have raided Leicester City for £70million French centre-back Wesley Fofana, who has signed for the Blues on a seven-year deal.
Original article published 31 August 2022
In one of the biggest transfers of the summer, the Foxes have lost the key defender to a Premier League rival with Chelsea finally completing the formalities of the huge move after being in talks since the weekend.
The France Under-21 international, who joined Leicester from French side Saint-Etienne in 2020, has made 37 Premier League appearances but was absent for much of last term after breaking his leg in pre-season.
A delighted Fofana said: "The two last days have been really big 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."
The capture of Fofana extends Chelsea's significant summer outlay. Thomas Tuchel's side have signed England forward Raheem Sterling from Manchester City for £50m, Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for £34m, English midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa for £20m, Spain left-back Marc Cucurella from Brighton for £60m and Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan.
Chelsea, who are 33/1 to win the Premier League and 1/1 for a top four finish, lost 2-1 at Southampton on Tuesday, while Leicester, who are 11/4 for a top-half finish and 3/1 to be relegated, go in search of their first win when they entertain Manchester United on Thursday.
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Wolves land Austrian ace
Meanwhile, with the transfer window closing on Thursday night, Wolves have also been active in the market on Wednesday, snapping up tall Austria striker Sasa Kalajdzic from Stuttgart.
The 25-year-old, who has signed a five-year deal, with the option of a further 12 months, has joined for a fee of around £15million, plus add-ons.
He said: "I'm really thankful and happy to be here. It was the club that wanted me the most in the end," said Kalajdzic, who has 15 caps for his country.
"I'm two metres tall, but also not bad with my feet. I'm just hungry to score goals."
Further moves are expected to be completed throughout Wednesday and Thursday as the deadline approaches for top flight clubs to strengthen their options.
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