Wesley Tidjan Fofana (born 17 December 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Chelsea and the France national under-21 team.
![]() Fofana playing for Leicester City in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Wesley Tidjan Fofana[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2000-12-17) 17 December 2000 (age 21)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Marseille, France | ||
Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back[4] | ||
Club 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 | (1) |
2022– | Chelsea | 2 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2020– | France U21 | 7 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:48, 1 October 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 September 2022 |
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 Palestine 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]
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]
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]
On 31 August 2022, Fofana joined English 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 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 win against AC Milan.[25]
Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Europe | Total | ||||||
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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 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 5] | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Career total | 59 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 86 | 4 |
Saint-Étienne
Leicester City
Individual
Chelsea F.C. – current squad | |
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