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Wesley Fofana remembers his first coaching session at Leicester Metropolis. Jamie Vardy lunged at him with each toes. That was his welcome to English soccer however the younger defender quickly made himself proper at residence.
When he was out injured final season, Brendan Rodgers in contrast his absence to Liverpool dropping Virgil van Dijk. So swift has his progress been that former Chelsea defender and World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf likened his rise to that of Kylian Mbappe.
Jonny Evans, his centre-back companion at Leicester, even tipped him to go on to grow to be one of many world’s finest defenders after watching him cope with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Chatting with Rodgers about Fofana in April, he was equally satisfied.
“He’s a completely phenomenal expertise, this younger man,” he advised Sky Sports activities. “He’s a star within the making. The uncooked expertise, the anticipation for a defender. He’s going to be an absolute elite participant.” Now 21, Fofana is able to present that he already is one.
The £70m transfer to Chelsea will make the uncapped Frenchman one of the costly defenders within the historical past of the sport. The price displays his degree of efficiency for Leicester nevertheless it additionally reveals one thing about how a lot Thomas Tuchel believes he wants him.
Chelsea’s defensive document because the German arrived on the membership has been largely spectacular, retaining as many clear sheets as Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Even Pep Guardiola’s Manchester Metropolis have conceded solely two fewer than Chelsea since Tuchel got here in.
However the departure of Antonio Rudiger to Actual Madrid was an enormous loss. It’s not simply his high quality however extra particularly his tempo. Rudiger was clocked because the quickest participant within the Premier League final season – simply forward of Mohamed Salah and Adama Traore.
Kalidou Koulibaly, 31, can replicate Rudiger’s presence however alongside the 37-year-old Thiago Silva it means Chelsea must be conscious of the make-up of that again line. It partly explains why Tuchel has typically wished Reece James in there over Cesar Azpilicueta.
No different Chelsea defender got here near Rudiger’s high velocity of 36.7 kilometres per hour final season. Trevoh Chalobah was closest at 33.2 kilometres per hour. However Fofana modifications that. His high velocity for Leicester final season was a wholesome 34.5 kilometres per hour.
It makes him one of many quickest defenders within the Premier League and that has penalties. It permits his crew to play differently. “He was letting us assault, shutting down counter-attacks,” mentioned James Maddison after beating PSV final season.
Chatting with Rodgers again at Leicester’s coaching floor on the morning after that win in Europe, he defined the impression Fofana’s fashion of play had on his crew. They have been defending greater and the gaps have been smaller. “Tempo does that,” he advised Sky Sports activities.
“The dimensions of the pitch is at all times dictated by your centre-halves and full-backs.” If the defence are too deep, involved by that ball excessive, it undermines the whole lot. “You will be up there urgent but when they’re sat again on the midway line then the pitch is simply too huge.”
He added: “It’s a trait we wish to have within the crew. We ask them to defend ahead. That’s about anticipation, closing the pitch, sustaining assaults. You can not at all times rating with the primary go however you have to win it again and counter-press while you lose it.”
That means to intercept, darting out from the again line to win again possession, is a much-cherished high quality in high groups. They need a defender who can run again in the direction of his personal purpose but in addition impression the sport within the different route with that managed aggression.
Add in Fofana’s aerial means because of a leap that permits him to outjump taller opponents. Observe the ball abilities that guarantee he’s comfy in possession. Because of this Leicester seemed such a distinct crew in his absence in the course of the first half of final season.
“Any crew would miss him,” Rodgers advised Sky Sports activities.
“You must be trustworthy and open sufficient to confess that you will miss somebody of that means. In fact that’s going to hinder efficiency. There is no such thing as a rocket science to it. You miss your finest gamers and it takes away from the extent of your sport.”
That’s Leicester’s drawback now. With the assistance of Evans on the pitch and Kolo Toure off it, the boy dubbed ‘Little Wes’ because of the presence of title-winning captain Wes Morgan on the membership grew into a person within the Midlands. However they needed to know this is likely to be fleeting.
The circumstances of Fofana’s arrival have been controversial. Saint-Etienne didn’t wish to promote however the participant pushed for the transfer, his household enduring private abuse consequently. He was single-minded then and singled-minded now. All that issues is the following step.
For Fofana, which means Chelsea. He was 11-years-old when his hero Didier Drogba received the Champions League with the membership in 2012. By following that very same path, he’s decided to safe a spot in Didier Deschamps’ France squad for the World Cup later this yr.
Chelsea will profit from that ambition, simply as they may profit from the tactical flexibility that Rodgers instilled in him. Fofana is an effective match on the appropriate facet of a again three however he may play as one in every of two centre-backs. That is likely to be the one side left to enhance.
“We simply must be cautious with him,” mentioned Rodgers in April. “He’s nonetheless studying facets of the sport, tactically. We’ve got to recollect how younger he’s.” When his £70m transfer is full, maybe it will likely be time to take a look at it one other method. How good may Wesley Fofana but grow to be?
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