Wesley Fofana has played once for France, in 2023 [Getty Images] Wesley Fofana shed tears, faced criticism for laughing at the wrong moment and exposed racist abuse last season - but now he believes stability will lead to an "amazing" Chelsea future. The 25-year-old centre-back has been a controversial figure because of the difficulties he has faced since his £75m move from Leicester City in 2022. However, he is also a survivor. He is the last remaining signing from that summer and, following Marc Cucurella's move to Real Madrid, Chelsea's longest-serving player aside from academy graduate Reece James. "Football is like this. It moves fast, but it is a good stat," said Fofana. "For me, some years were difficult, but now I'm back. I'm playing, I'm fit." Fofana is right to be optimistic. He is young, featured heavily under new manager Xabi Alonso in pre-season, and fit and healthy after injury troubles in recent seasons. Well, almost. "Thanks, Filip," he jokes, referring to goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen punching him during an aerial challenge and denying him a truly injury-free campaign last season. Still, Fofana says "small details" have helped him stay fit having broken his leg at Leicester before overcoming an ACL injury and hamstring surgery at Chelsea. "For me, the most important thing last season was to be fit, just to remove this from my head - the injuries and other things," he explained. 'I accept criticism - but not racism' Fofana has only started 46 Premier League games since joining Chelsea four years ago [Getty Images] Fofana reiterates it was his "dream" to join Chelsea, the club he supported as a boy growing up in Marseille, through his admiration for the Blues' former striker Didier Drogba. However, Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League last season and failed to win a trophy. Fofana was arguably the fall guy for many supporters, not helped by footage of him laughing on the bench during a heavy Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain in March. He said it was not as significant as some made out and that those inside the club "know my mentality", but added: "When the team is not doing well, we need to find someone [to blame]. I can accept that. "The club bought me for a very big transfer [fee]. I came with the ambition to be the best in my position and to help the team. So, when things go badly, I accept being the guy [people blame]." The France defender could easily have pointed the finger at Chelsea themselves. Former manager Enzo Maresca left the club after a falling out with the hierarchy, while his replacement Liam Rosenior oversaw a five-game winless run without a goal and lost the support of large sections of the dressing room during his four-month spell. "Of course we can use this as an excuse, but I think it's the players," said Fofana. "We didn't give everything. We lost some games, we produced some poor performances and we missed a lot of things. "Of course you can't bring that into the new season, but I think everyone knows what was wrong last season. Everyone looked at themselves in the mirror." There is a line that cannot be crossed. Fofana, a Muslim whose father is from Ivory Coast, was racially abused on Instagram last season. He also highlighted abuse in March 2025. He says it hurts to see those messages, but he will never stop calling it out. "It is not a big thing to expose people who do that," he said. "For me, it is very important. For me and other players, we need to show what people are saying. "We need to educate people. I think the people behind Instagram need to work on that. I exposed this on Instagram and Twitter [now called X] because I think they need to be more aware and more conscious of this problem. "It is not only football. I think the world is a little bit like this and it is too easy to say some things. Sometimes I receive messages and I don't think these people are racist. "They send monkey emojis because they are unhappy with the result and then, if I score in the next game, the same people support me. "We need to educate people because it is not normal to talk like this. I understand that if I get a red card, you can be disappointed, but you cannot say these things." Fofana says young players have shown him similar messages after matches and chosen not to do anything about them. Having received such abuse from a young age he is prepared to continue speaking out, even if it leads to criticism of his own character.
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What does the future hold? Alonso has picked his strongest XI for three of his five matches during pre-season, and all three featured Fofana. However, Chelsea have signed Maxence Lacroix and have nine centre-backs on their books. In addition, the club also has a group of players it considers "untouchable", meaning they are not for sale - but Fofana does not feature on that list. When this was put to Fofana, he replied: "Yes we have a lot, I think there are nine or 10. Everyone needs to be good, to train well and after the manager takes the decision. It's like this for everyone. "Maybe some guys will leave, others will come again. For myself, it is about training well, trying to be fit and we will see what the manager does. If the club tells me they don't need me anymore, it is like this. Of course I will be sad but this is football. You can't say 'I have my place and I am sure to play'". It seems unlikely Fofana will leave and, indeed, he wants to stay and believes in a positive future for Chelsea. He is among the players who have been convinced by assurances from the sporting directors and board about a change of direction, embodied by the signings of senior players Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck. Fofana says the duo, aged 36 and 35 respectively, "know how to win big games", will be "important in training sessions" and may give one or two players "a kicking" if they are slacking. However, he believes managerial stability under Alonso will define whether Chelsea succeed or not. "I think everyone knows we need stability," he adds. "We talked last season with the directors and they said the same thing. They think the same way as the players. We need stability."
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