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.

Early and personal life
Fofana was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. His father is Ivorian, whereas his mother is French. One of six children, he started playing football at the age of six playing for Repos Vitrolles.

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 of the Muslim Ramadan. In the next match against Crystal Palace, the game was paused after the half-hour mark for Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyaté to have some fluids to end their fast.

Fofana showed his support for the Palestinians after winning the 2021 English FA Cup Final by waving a large flag of Palestine, along with fellow Leicester City teammate Hamza Choudhury, during their team celebrations that took place amidst the 2021 Palestinian-Israeli clashes in May 2021.

Saint-Étienne
Having been in the youth system since 2015, Fofana signed his first professional contract with Saint-Étienne on 15 May 2018. He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 league win over Nice on 18 May 2019.

Leicester City
Fofana joined English Premier League club Leicester City on 2 October 2020, signing a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Saint-Étienne was reported as up to £36.5 million. On 15 May 2021, he played in the 2021 FA Cup Final, which Leicester won 1–0 for his first career honour in England. He and teammate Hamza Choudhury both celebrated draped in the flag of Palestine, during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.

On 21 May 2021, Fofana won Leicester City's Young Player of the Season award after being voted by the club's supporters.

On 4 August 2021, during a pre-season friendly against Villarreal, Fofana suffered a broken leg following a challenge by Fer Niño. 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.

Chelsea
On 31 August 2022, Fofana joined Premier League club Chelsea on a seven-year contract for a reported initial fee of £70 million, plus £5 million in add-ons. After signing for Chelsea, Fofana criticised his former club Leicester City, accusing them of issuing "false and misleading comments" during his protracted transfer. 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. 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 2023.

Fofana returned from injury on 18 February 2023, in a 1–0 home defeat against Southampton. He scored his first ever Premier League goal against Leeds United on 4 March, in a 1–0 home victory. On 18 July 2023, Chelsea revealed that Fofana had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) and had undergone a surgery. In late November 2023, it was announced that Fofana had been cleared to resume training following his recovery from the ACL injury. However, he was unable to feature in any match during the 2023–24 season due to his injury.

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. However, he was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.

Honours
Saint-Étienne
 * Coupe de France runner-up: 2019–20

Leicester City
 * FA Cup: 2020–21

Individual
 * IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2020