Soccer

William Gallas names the recent Chelsea signing that has 'just been a disaster'

The signing of Wesley Fofana in 2022 has been "a disaster" for Chelsea, says William Gallas.

Fofana joined the Blues from Leicester City in Aug 2022 for a reported fee of £70 million plus add-ons, with the London club hoping that the French centre-back would be a key piece of their defence for years to come.

However, Fofana has yet to complete a full season at Stamford Bridge as injuries have severly cut down his availability, including an ACL injury that kept him off the field for the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign.

Read next | 'We are far away' - Pep Guardiola admits gap between Manchester City and Liverpool after Sunday showdown

It was hoped that Fofana would help the Blues successfully transition away from veteran defender Thiago Silva, who left the club last year at the age of 40, but Gallas says Fofana's injury issues may prevent his younger countryman from ever reaching his true potential.

"Chelsea didn’t sign a defender with the same qualities [as Silva] despite spending £70 million on Wesley Fofana, which has just been a disaster," Gallas told Slingo.

"When Chelsea signed Fofana three years ago, I was very worried because he had already suffered a long-term injury at Leicester.

"Even though his injuries have been different, sometimes a bad injury can have a lot of damage on the body and since he joined Chelsea even when he was fit he hasn’t been able to find his best performances.

"Chelsea have potentially made a mistake. He has the potential to go very far but it’s so hard to come back from serious injuries and reach the same level. You have to be so sure when you spend that sort of money and they can’t have been."

FIFA Club World Cup

Error code: %{errorCode}

William Gallas names the recent Chelsea signing that has 'just been a disaster'

More Football