sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

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.

Wesley Fofana

Fofana playing for Leicester City in 2022
Personal information
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

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 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]

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 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]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 October 2022[26]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

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	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

Honours

Saint-Étienne

• Coupe de France runner-up: 2019–20[27]

Leicester City

• FA Cup: 2020–21[28]

Individual

• IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2020[29]

References

External links

• Wesley Fofana at the French Football Federation (in French)

На других языках

---

[de] Wesley Fofana

Wesley Fofana (* 17. Dezember 2000 in Marseille) ist ein französischer Fußballspieler. Er steht beim englischen Erstligisten FC Chelsea unter Vertrag.

---

- [en] Wesley Fofana (footballer)

---

[es] Wesley Fofana (futbolista)

Wesley Fofana (Marsella, 17 de diciembre de 2000) es un futbolista francés que juega de defensa en el Chelsea F. C. de la Premier League de Inglaterra.

---

[fr] Wesley Fofana (football)

Wesley Fofana, né le 17 décembre 2000 à Marseille en France, est un footballeur français qui évolue au poste de défenseur central au Chelsea FC.

---

[it] Wesley Fofana (calciatore)

Wesley Fofana (Marsiglia, 17 dicembre 2000) è un calciatore francese, difensore del Chelsea e della nazionale Under-21 francese.

---

[ru] Фофана, Весле

Весле Фофана (фр. Wesley Fofana; родился 17 декабря 2000, Марсель) — французский футболист, центральный защитник английского клуба «Челси».

---

---