Chelsea star told to utilise Thiago Silva's experience to seize opportunity following summer signing

Wesley Fofana has been told he has a ‘great opportunity’ to learn from veteran defender Thiago Silva at Chelsea after his summer transfer from Leicester City. 

The 21-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge for big money following the £70 million Chelsea paid to land the France international. 

It was a move motivated by the lure to win trophies, a habit for Chelsea since the turn of the century, with Fofana admitting on announcement: "I’m here to win trophies – the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, everything.

Welcome, Wesley! 😁#FofanaIsChelsea

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 31, 2022

"I came here to win and the club is built to win trophies so I’m here to continue that."

Fofana has already made his Chelsea debut after arriving under Thomas Tuchel’s management, but will now work with Graham Potter as the Blues opted to make a managerial change. 

He will play alongside top class defenders at Stamford Bridge. Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly and Trevoh Chalobah are the options for Chelsea, with Ben Chilwell and Reece James the options at wing-back. 

Fofana has been given advice by former Chelsea defender William Gallas, who has told him to make use of Silva’s experience to help improve himself during his time in the capital.

Speaking to Genting Casino, Gallas said: “For example Fofana, he has a great opportunity to learn a lot from Thiago Silva.”

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Gallas added: “All the defenders, they learned from someone. Nesta, he was next to Maldini. So for defenders to go to the next level you need that.”

Fofana comes with expectation to perform but it will be down to Potter to ensure he gets the best out of the central defender. 

Chelsea will be hoping to get their first win of the Potter era against Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League. Gallas knows Chelsea have a ‘good manager’ at the helm, but warns it’s ‘another level’ of expectation compared to his Brighton days. 

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He continued: “Graham Potter seems like a nice guy and a good manager, but I'm still waiting to see what he's going to do to get Chelsea back to top form. 

“He looks very calm, and looks like he likes to have conversations with his players from what I see from the outside, but I don't know if he's like this in reality. I'm still waiting. 

“He did a good job at Brighton, but Chelsea is not Brighton, he has gone to another level with more expectations, more pressure, so it will be good to see if he can be the right manager.”

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