After a move for Jules Kounde failed, Chelsea are reportedly turning their attention to Leicester City's Wesley Fofana as Thomas Tuchel's search for a defender continues.
An underwhelming start to pre-season prompted Tuchel to seemingly confirm his intention to continue rebuilding his side for next season. With Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen having departed this summer, the Blues signed Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly as a replacement, though with Cesar Azpilicueta also tipped to leave, more depth is needed in defence.
Tuchel's priority signing was Sevilla defender Kounde, who's been on the Blues' radar since last summer, but despite Chelsea's best efforts, the French international has moved to Barcelona. Now, football.london understands that Chelsea are interested in Leicester City's Fofana, with the young French defender valued at around £70 million.
He's Premier League proven, so could Fofana prove the best fit defender for Chelsea? We simulated the Blues' 2022/23 season with Fofana in the squad to see what sort of results he could help Chelsea produce.
In his first season with Chelsea, Fofana quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League, making 40 appearances in all competitions whilst averaging an incredibly high rating of 7.51 per game.
The 21-year-old also grabbed four goals and five assists throughout the season - two of his goals coming in the Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona. When compared to the rest of the Chelsea squad, Fofana was the highest-rated player, with Edouard Mendy (7.41) the second best.
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BY LEWIS BARTON
08:00, 30 JUL 2022
We 'signed' Wesley Fofana for Chelsea with incredible individual impact
We 'signed' Wesley Fofana for Chelsea with incredible individual impact
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After a move for Jules Kounde failed, Chelsea are reportedly turning their attention to Leicester City's Wesley Fofana as Thomas Tuchel's search for a defender continues.
An underwhelming start to pre-season prompted Tuchel to seemingly confirm his intention to continue rebuilding his side for next season. With Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen having departed this summer, the Blues signed Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly as a replacement, though with Cesar Azpilicueta also tipped to leave, more depth is needed in defence.
Tuchel's priority signing was Sevilla defender Kounde, who's been on the Blues' radar since last summer, but despite Chelsea's best efforts, the French international has moved to Barcelona. Now, football.london understands that Chelsea are interested in Leicester City's Fofana, with the young French defender valued at around £70 million.
READ MORE: How Chelsea can line up with Wesley Fofana and Denzel Dumfries transfers as £104m swoop eyed
He's Premier League proven, so could Fofana prove the best fit defender for Chelsea? We simulated the Blues' 2022/23 season with Fofana in the squad to see what sort of results he could help Chelsea produce.
We 'signed' Wesley Fofana for Chelsea next season
For this simulation to happen, we used the in-game editor for Football Manager 2022 to transfer Fofana from Leicester City to Chelsea. We also updated the Blues squad with all the latest changes to try and get the most accurate results possible.
Fofana's stats from the 2022/23 season
Fofana's stats from the 2022/23 season(Image: Football Manager 2022)
In his first season with Chelsea, Fofana quickly established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League, making 40 appearances in all competitions whilst averaging an incredibly high rating of 7.51 per game.
The 21-year-old also grabbed four goals and five assists throughout the season - two of his goals coming in the Champions League quarter-finals against Barcelona. When compared to the rest of the Chelsea squad, Fofana was the highest-rated player, with Edouard Mendy (7.41) the second best.
Fofana was Chelsea's best player in the 2022/23 season simulation
Fofana was Chelsea's best player in the 2022/23 season simulation(Image: Football manager 2022)
Defensively he was the outright best defender, though he made fewer appearances than Trevor Chalobah, Koulibaly, Ben Chilwell and Reece James. Compared to Chelsea's defenders, Fofana had the most goals, most assists and most player of the match awards, and the best rating.
At the end of the season, FM22 released the Best XI from the Chelsea squad, using player statistics, league data and other measures to complete the team. Here's Chelsea's Best XI for the 2022/23 season, according to our simulation.
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