MX23RW : Friday, January 31 00:21:32| >> :120:21635:21635:

Wesley Fofana joins Leicester City from Saint-Etienne for £32m

Wesley Fofana joins Leicester City from Saint-Etienne for £32m
© Reuters
The 19-year-old joins ahead of Monday's transfer deadline.

Leicester have signed Wesley Fofana from St Etienne on a five-year deal.

The 19-year-old defender joins for an initial £32million ahead of Monday's transfer deadline.

It ends the Foxes' interest in Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski after they had a bid worth more than £30million rejected last month.

Fofana said: "I'm very happy to be here. I've watched Leicester closely since they won the title and they're a top club in the Premier League.

"I know I will learn a lot from the players and the manager here, which is one of the main reasons I came. I can't wait to get started."

Last month the centre-back urged St Etienne to let him leave for the King Power Stadium after an opening bid was rejected.

"I've received a lot of offers," he told L'Equipe. "It's normal to have them checked with my agents. They didn't agree to me talking. But what just happened broke something in me.

"My decision is made: I accept an offer. Yes (to Leicester). I've always dreamed of playing in England."

Fofana made his debut for St Etienne in May 2019 and has made 26 appearances in all competitions for Les Verts.

He has also been named in France's Under-21s squad for this month's Euro 2021 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Slovakia.

He made 14 appearances in the French top tier last term and was part of the side which reached the final of the Coupe de France, where they lost 1-0 to PSG.

He has played four times in Ligue 1 this season, helping his team keep three clean sheets and sit fourth.

ID:416854: cacheID:416854:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3746:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Saint Etienne's Wesley Fofana in action with Gent's Jonathan David in the Europa League on November 28, 2019
Read Next:
Leicester agree £30m deal for Wesley Fofana
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!