Wesley Fofana: Why Chelsea Went All-Out For Leicester's French Defender
The 21-year-old defender is uncapped, coming off a horrific long-term injury and expensive. Why were the Blues dogged in Fofana's pursuit despite the risks?
As a young boy growing up in a province in North Marseilles, Wesley Fofana spent hours on YouTube watching videos of his idol – a Marseilles legend, a player with Ivorian roots like him – Didier Drogba. Back then, young Fofana played as a striker; that was until Saint-Etienne’s Sporting Director Kaïsse Hannachi told him that he would then be moved to defense, asking him to take inspiration from another young Saint-Etienne and French talent who started as a right winger and a center forward before making a seamless transition to centerback. That defender was Kurt Zouma. Then there’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who broke out at Saint Etienne, was born in France, has West African roots, and has been linked with a move to London all summer. No surprise then that Fofana has dreamt of joining Chelsea since he was young, and that he did all he could to make sure that the opportunity, like many of his opponents, would not pass him by.
The Profile
Although France’s talent factory has drawn admiring and envious glances from around the world for its relentless production of exciting youth players, it is at CB where a whole host of stellar, near prodigious, talents have emerged in recent times. It is then an emphatic reflection of Fofana’s immense potential that from a talent pool of U23 French CBs that include Jules Kounde, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Evan Ndicka, Maxence Lacroix, Benoit Badiashile, Ibrahima Konate, Axel Disasi and more, he is considered to be one of the most promising, despite being the 2nd youngest.
When he was 19, Leicester made him the most expensive French teenaged defender ever; paying Saint-Etienne £36.5m for his services. In just his third game, Fofana kept a clean sheet against a front line of Bukayo Saka, Alexander Lacazette and Aubameyang as Leicester won away at Arsenal for the first time since 1973. Leicester, who invest often and with resounding success in the French and Belgian markets for talents ( N’golo Kante, Youri Tielemans, Ricardo Pereira, Dennis Praet, Nampalys Mendy, Wilfred Ndidi, Boubakary Soumare being a few in recent years) knew exactly what they were going to get.
Strengths
Physical Traits/Defensive Actions
Still only 21, Fofana has now developed into defensive lynchpin, combining freakish athleticism, toughness, aggression and maturity beyond his tender years. This makes him adept at all proactive and reactive forms of defending; a dominating force on the ground and in the air. In essence, his stand-out trait is the quality he brings in all aspects of defensive play. He is a hard, uncompromising tackler who shows good judgement in terms of when to stay on his feet, and when to use his height and reach to go to ground to win balls back. His timing is generally immaculate, and look how quickly he springs back to his feet after a defensive action.
He reads the game well too — his agility, reach and athleticism also allow him to intercept the ball, while his strength allows him to shield it from attackers.
Aerial Duelist
At 6’3, he possesses an excellent leap, judges the trajectory of the ball well and generates a lot of power in his headers. This makes him fantastic at dealing with crosses, and a dangerous presence in the opposition box. Last season (albeit over an injury-marred 630 minutes) he won 65.7% of his aerial duels. In seasons where has played at least 600 minutes, he has never dropped below 60% in his aerial duel success.
Ground Speed/Recovery Pace
Despite his height, Fofana belongs to a rare profile of CBs who are also lightning quick on the ground; his explosiveness and speed perhaps a result of having trained as a forward in his earlier years. This makes him very good at dealing with 1v1 threats on the wing or central zones against quicker players and makes him an absolute pain to dribble past, despite a high-aggression, proactive style of defending.
This is also key to his confidence in playing his trademark aggressive style. Even if he makes an error in judgement, his recovery pace over long distances allows him to rectify any dangerous situations trying to exploit a high line.
Technical
From a technical standpoint, he is comfortable on the ball and decently press-resistant. His speed allows him to carry the ball from CB to the middle or even the attacking third. In wide areas (as the wide CB) he uses his strength and speed to progress the ball to the middle 3rd.
Defensive Awareness + Communication
Another stand-out feature of his game is his defensive awareness and communication. Fofana scans often even in the midst of attacks to ensure he is well orientated to what is happening around him. It helps him understand where the epicenter of the danger is, which he conveys regularly to his defensive partners through gestures.
In these instances, you can see how he tells his fullback to check the overlap threat, fully confident in his ability to deal with the on-the-ball threat.
Weaknesses/Scope for Improvement
Lack of Threat in Progressive Passing + Medium/Long Passing
If there’s one aspect Fofana could improve on massively, it is his ability to progress play through his passing. This is not saying that he can’t do it yet, but Fofana by nature seems to be conservative on the ball. He is not the kind to try line-breaking passes consistently to progress the ball (he tends to fluff a fair amount of ones he tries) choosing instead to give those responsibilities to Jonny Evans. He does pick the occasional progressive, line-breaking pass here and there, but not at a level his competitor for the French NT spot, Jules Kounde, manages to do consistently with excellent success.
Fofana’s medium and long passing numbers are very good, but the weight/purpose behind the passes could do with work, as he usually hits them more out of consequence rather than intent. In Chelsea’s 3 atb system, the lack of the extra midfielder/attacker means the wide CBs have to provide some level of progression threat via carrying or passing. He currently lacks the intent and fearlessness of Rudiger in this regard. How he copes with build up and progression-under-pressure duties in Chelsea’s system, where his volume and participation will be amped up compared to at Leicester, will be interesting to see.
Over-Aggression
An issue not uncommon with young CBs, Fofana’s single-minded determination to go hard and quick into duels can sometimes lead to him giving away needless fouls or worse, getting dribbled past. Although his aggression is a handy deterrent for most attackers, he would do well to inculcate a more tempered approach in his defensive third to avoid giving away silly fouls or leaving his defense under pressure.
Big Game Pedigree
A minor concern would be a lack of tests against opposition at the highest level. He is uncapped by France, and has not played in the Champions League either. How does he perform on the big occasions? How does he cope against world class operators? The encouraging signs are that he has performed admirably against big 6 opposition, often excelling in a poor Leicester defense. How that translates to this Chelsea side, under amplified pressure, will be a litmus test for the young defender.
Injury Proneness
Between the 19/20 and the 20/21 seasons, he suffered 4 back-to-back knee injuries which kept him for 93 days of action. A fractured fibula and strained ankle ligaments kept him out for 223 days, so there are definite concerns over long-term durability. However, since his return from that horrific injury, he has looked back to his best; showing no signs of physical or psychological trauma.
Where does he fit?
At first glance, losing Andreas Christensen, the bizarre abandoned pursuit of Jules Kounde, and ever-greenness of Thiago Silva in the center of the back 3 suggests that Fofana will take up the RCB slot, which has been up for grabs between Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah. Fofana’s versatility is a big plus too; he can play anywhere across the back 3 (as can Koulibaly.) Thomas Tuchel now has the option to deploy Fofana on the flank against the pacier threat. Koulibaly’s struggles against Leeds’ speed and the subsequent red card did reveal that more quick-footed attackers could pose an issue to the Senegalese defender, so moving Fofana to protect him offers nice micro-management solutions.
However, in Chelsea’s wide CB role, Fofana will have to take up the mantle of progression, something he hasn’t had to do at Leicester while playing RCB. Jorginho’s presence will offer some relief; after the third round of fixtures, Koulibaly had topped the league in line-breaking passes (114), indicating that there will still be enough progression in the build-up phase. But a higher volume of carries and polishing his medium/long passing will be key to Fofana fulfilling his world class potential.
The more urgent need, however, is rectifying the fragility that has been apparent in this new look defense. The overall aerial capabilities of the backline have taken a hit; for instance, 4 of the 6 best aerial duelers at the club (from fbref) have either gone on loan or have been sold -
Loftus-Cheek: 77.4%
Alonso: 69.4%
Rudiger: 69.1%
Silva: 68%
Sarr: 66.7%
Christensen: 61.9%
The %es of those now in line for more starts in defense are:
Azpilicueta: 60.5%
Koulibaly: 59%
Chalobah: 58.3%
Cucurella: 54%
James: 47.8%
This drop in aerial dueling was visible in the dueling success this season too. Thanks to Chelsea Database (@ChelseaDatabase on Twitter) you can see how Spurs and Leeds both edged us at duels inside our own box.
We conceded only 4 goals from set-pieces in the entirety of last season. We have already conceded 2 in the first 3 games of this season. Fofana’s presence in the box will be a massive help in trying to restore the balance we have lost and fortifying our susceptibility to aerial deliveries and dueling (Fofana won 3.0 duels per 90 with a success rate of 62% last season, while Rudiger contested 1.6 per 90, with a success rate of 52%.)
Interestingly, Evans’ injuries and Soyuncu’s drop in form saw Fofana play often at CCB, and it was here that he looked most at home. At CCB, he was often the deepest defender, allowing him to not partake in progression duties as often. It also made him a very effective anti-transition solution, owing to his excellent recovery pace and defensive nous.
That solution may not be possible considering Thiago Silva could struggle with the physical requirements of playing as a wide CB, but it would (and should) be Chelsea’s succession plan as Silva’s heir at CCB. Going four at the back, with Koulibaly and Fofana (both comfortable in a back 4) could also be a viable solution post-Silva, allowing the utilization of the plethora of 8’s — Gallagher, Mount, Chukwuemeka, Casadei, Loftus-Cheek, Arsen Zakharyan (who has been linked with a move from Dynamo Moscow) and even Mount, in their natural positions.
Why not any of Chelsea’s other CB targets though? For the simple reason that Fofana was a better overall defender than most. There were question marks over Kounde’s height and aerial ability in the PL, over Pau Torres’ duel-shyness and lack of physicality, Benoit Badiashile is young, only plays LCB/LB and untested, while there were doubts over Skriniar and De Ligt’s mobility on the turn and their ability to cope with high lines and transitions in the PL. Albeit with only a decent sample size, Fofana has proven there are no concerns over any of those issues.
Overall, Fofana is an excellent signing for the Blues that addresses urgent short-term deficiencies while also fulfilling a long-term succession plan for Thiago Silva. Right now, Fofana is a bit like Gandalf — “You shall not pass!” he says to any opponent trying to take him on; “You shall not pass!” he says to himself, as he spots an option but chooses to take the safer route. But at 21, if he continues to improve after exposure to elite competition and honing the unpolished sides of his game, the exorbitant fee will vanish from memory, like magic.
“You shall not pass!” he says to himself, as he spots an option but chooses to take the safer route... Sam you savage😂 this part had me cracking up. Top analysis as always 🙌🏽👊🏽
Again another excellent piece and no surprise the quality of this was top notch👌. If you can, can you do one on Denis Zakaria?