Wesley Fofana (footballer)

Wesley Fofana (born 17 December 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Leicester City.

Not to be confused with Wesley Fofana (Rugby union player).

Wesley Fofana
Fofona playing for Leicester City in 2022
Personal information
Full name Wesley Fofana[1]
Date of birth (2000-12-17) 17 December 2000[2]
Place of birth Marseille, France
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back[4]
Club information
Current team
 Leicester City
Number 3
Youth career
2006–2008 Repos Vitrolles
2008–2010 Bassin Minier
2010–2011 Pennes Mirabeau
2011–2015 Bel Air
2015–2018 Saint-Étienne
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Saint-Étienne II 21 (0)
2019–2020 Saint-Étienne 20 (1)
2020– Leicester City 31 (0)
National team‡
2020– France U21 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:36, 23 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2021

Early and personal life

Fofana was born in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France.[5] His father is Ivorian, whereas his mother is French.[6] One of six children, he started playing football at the age of six playing for Repos Vitrolles.[7]

Fofana is a Muslim. On 22 April 2021, he was substituted on the hour mark during Leicester's 3–0 win against West Bromwich Albion, while Fofana was fasting for the month-long Islamic Ramadan.[8] In the next match against Crystal Palace, the game was paused after the half-hour mark to allow Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyaté to have some fluids to break their Ramadan fast.[9]

Club career

Saint-Étienne

Having been in the youth system since 2015, Fofana signed his first professional contract with Saint-Étienne on 15 May 2018.[10] He made his debut for the club in a 3–0 Ligue 1 win over Nice on 18 May 2019.[11]

Leicester City

Fofana joined English Premier League club Leicester City on 2 October 2020, signing a five-year contract.[12] The transfer fee paid to Saint-Étienne was reported as up to £36.5 million.[13] On 21 May 2021, Fofana won Leicester City's Young Player of the Season award after being voted by the club's supporters.[14]

On 4 August 2021, during a pre-season friendly against Villarreal, Fofana suffered a broken leg following a challenge by Fer Niño.[15] On 17 March 2022, Fofana played his first match since his injury, scoring in a 2–1 defeat to Stade Rennais in the UEFA Europa Conference League which secured Leicester's progress to the next round on a 3–2 aggregate score.[16]

Career statistics
As of match played 28 April 2022[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Saint-Étienne 2018–19 Ligue 1 200000—20
2019–20 Ligue 1 14161202[lower-alpha 3]0242
2020–21 Ligue 1 40———40
Total 201612020302
Leicester City 2020–21 Premier League 28040006[lower-alpha 3]0380
2021–22 Premier League 3000004[lower-alpha 4]171
Total 3104000101451
Career total 51110120121753
  1. Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Leicester City

Individual

References
  1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. "Wesley Fofana: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  3. "Wesley Fofana: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  4. "Wesley Fofana: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. "Wesley Fofana". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  6. https://infos-sport.com/france-ou-cote-divoire-la-reponse-de-wesley-fofana-est-tombee/
  7. Hendrix, Hale (29 October 2020). "Wesley Fofana Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts". LifeBogger. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  8. Blackwell, Jordan (23 April 2021). "Brendan Rodgers to protect 'remarkable' Wesley Fofana during Ramadan". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  9. "Wesley Fofana: Leicester defender thanks Premier League after being allowed to break Ramadan fast mid-game". Sky Sports.
  10. @ASSEofficiel. "Wesley Fofana signe professionnel". ASSE.fr.
  11. "AS Saint-Etienne - OGC Nice (3-0) - Saison 2018/2019 - Ligue 1 Conforama". www.lfp.fr.
  12. "Wesley Fofana: Leicester sign French defender from Saint-Etienne on five-year contract". BBC Sport. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  13. Romano, Fabrizio (29 September 2020). "Leicester agree £36.5m deal to sign Wesley Fofana from St Etienne". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  14. "Tielemans Scoops Player Of The Season Double". Leicester City F.C. 21 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  15. "Wesley Fofana: Leicester City defender suffers broken leg in friendly". BBC Sport. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  16. "Wesley Fofana marks Leicester comeback with decisive goal at Rennes". The Guardian. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  17. Wesley Fofana at Soccerway
  18. McNulty, Phil (15 May 2021). "Chelsea 0–1 Leicester City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  19. "IFFHS".
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