Chelsea reach 'agreement' with player Maresca 'has fallen in love with'

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 13 Oct 2024 07:21 CDT
• 3 min read

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca have reached a special agreement with Wesley Fofana, according to reports in France.

The defender has played every one of the Blues' games this season and has been a rock for the club. The Frenchman was absent for the whole of last season after suffering an ACL tear, while knee injuries kept him sidelined in his inaugural campaign.

Indeed, it's been a tricky spell for the Frenchman following his move from Leicester City, but this term he has emerged as a regular starter. L’Équipe reports that Maresca is now in love with the player and the club are following a strict one-game-per-week strategy so Fofana can keep fit.

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It's thought that this will continue until next year when Fofana will be able to play more games each week.

Fofana was the club's most expensive defender ever when he joined Chelsea for €80 million in 2022 from the Foxes, but a succession of injuries has limited Fofana to just 23 appearances in two years.

He recently revealed he could have left Chelsea for his boyhood club Marseille this summer after being approached to join the French side.

“I had a conversation that really touched me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t weigh it up,” Fofana told FreeFoot. “It was from Mehdi Benatia, Marseille’s sporting director.

"It touched me and I think everyone knows why. I thought about it but there you go, the current objective is to succeed at Chelsea, to try and play regularly, and to establish myself at my club.”

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Fofana looking to bounce back after horror injury history

Fofana was considered one of the best young defenders in the Premier League during his time at Leicester, hence why Chelsea were willing to splash out on the French international even with his questionable injury record.

The 23-year-old was sidelined for most of the 2021/22 season with a broken fibula before recovering to finish the season strong with Leicester.

But despite also having a number of knee injuries for Leicester and previous side Saint Etienne, Chelsea embarked on a summer-long transfer saga to convince Fofana to join the club on deadline day in 2022.