Chelsea complete £70m deal for Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana

Chelsea have secured their sixth major signing of the transfer window after completing a deal for Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.

Fofana has signed a seven-year contract with Chelsea, bringing to an end the club's protracted pursuit of the 21-year-old centre-back.

“The two last days have been really big days for me and I’m very happy,” Fofana told the club website. “I trained this morning with the team and it’s a dream for me. I’m very excited to start playing games for the fans and the club.

“I’m here to win trophies – the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, everything. I came here to win and the club is built to win trophies so I’m here to continue that.”

The Blues first turned their attention to Fofana after missing out on fellow Frenchman Jules Kounde, who opted to join Barcelona from Sevilla at the start of August.

Chelsea had several bids for Fofana rejected by Leicester, leading to the player being excluded from games against Chelsea and Southampton and left to train with the Under-23 squad after expressing his unhappiness at not being allowed to leave.

It is understood that the agreed fee is in the region of an initial £70 million that could rise to £75m after add-ons.

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly said: “Wesley is a hugely promising defender who has already proven his quality in the Premier League at a young age.

“We are delighted we were able to bring one of Europe’s most exciting talents to Chelsea and further strengthen that area of our squad, both for this season and many more to come.”

Fofana flew to the United States on Monday to undergo his medical, which, according to The Athletic, was to give Boehly “peace of mind”, having missed