Much like the striker and goalkeeper positions, Chelsea have been trying to find a world class player to hold down the role for the long term. Since the departure of John Terry, Antonio Rudiger was a capable replacement before leaving for Real Madrid thanks to the sale of the club by Roman Abramovich.
The other name on that short list is Thiago Silva who was still near world class levels despite playing for Chelsea in his mid to late 30s. Since Silva aged out of that category, the Blues have tried desperately to replace him through a combination of Academy products like Fiyako Tomori and Levi Colwill and big money signings like Wesley Fofana who they spent £70 million on in 2022.
Fofana came to Chelsea with the injury-prone tag thanks to some abbreviated seasons both at Saint-Etienne and Leicester City and unfortunately that has followed him here. The French international has made just 32 appearances since arriving in 2022 and missed the entire 2023-24 season due to a major knee injury.
Because of these injuries, we have not been able to see the potential world class version of Fofana at Chelsea and the signing has been recently called a disaster by former Blue William Gallas. The former Chelsea and Arsenal defender said of Fofana and his injury history:
""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. 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.""William Gallas on Wesley Fofana
Gallas also called out that Fofana has not been performing well even he was healthy but some of that may have to do with being in and out of the lineup. Even when Fofana did not have a long term injury he was in and out of the starting XI with niggling injuries that have piled up over the years.
At 24 years old, Fofana doesn’t fit the upcoming youngster category but also isn’t quite old enough to be an aging veteran that won’t recover from his long term injuries. Unfortunately we have seen many great players succumb to injuries even at a young age and never get back to the elite players they once were.
Fofana is back in training and he is expected to make his return at some point in March but there has been no fixed date given. With all of the other injuries Cheslea are dealing with then getting Fofana back in the lineup would be a major boost to their hopes for the rest of the year.
However if he is unable to hold down his place due to injury or poor form it may be time for Chelsea to look for ways to move on from the Frenchman. They will certainly take a major loss if they sold him but it may be the easiest way to end the “will he or won't he” be healthy game they have been playing for a few years now.