Wesley Fofana
Year : 2000 Height : 190cm
Country; France
Current club: Leicester City
Preferred foot : Right
Position : Centre Back
Born in Marseille in the south of France, with African roots, Fofana moved to St.Etienne’s youth academy in 2015 – when he was just 15 years old. Five years later, the 20- year-old centre-back has established himself as one of Premier League’s best defenders, helping Leicester City to a possible consolation 2nd position in England. In 2018, Fofana signed his first professional contract with St.Etienne at just 17 years of age. He starred just one season properly in Ligue 1 (2019/20) before he was offloaded to the Premier League after Leicester spotted his defensive talent. Fofana made headlines for the first time perhaps when St.Etienne played AS Monaco at the Geoffrey Stadium in November 2019, when he played out a commendable match and helped the visitors secure a crucial 1-0 victory.
His market value has tripled since his move from the French club and now Fofana is nothing short of a starter for one of England’s best teams. An adept defender with strong tackling skills and positional play, Wesley Fofana is a player with tremendous defensive abilities. Before Leicester officially made the move, a considerable number of top clubs such as Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Everton showed interest in signing him, but the Foxes came out victorious.
His main strengths lie in certain aspects of his game such as aerial prowess, pinpoint interceptions, tackling and positional sense of play, as mentioned before. Brendan Rodgers has helped Fofana develop into a fine defender capable of holding off the physicality of arguably the toughest league in the world. At just 20, he has shown he is capable of doing just that in his first season at the King Power Stadium. His tender age does not bar him from visualizing how to save opponents’ goal scoring situations, thanks to his game intelligence and cleverness in positioning himself in key moments which have helped Leicester this season to contend for the league title early in the season and win the FA Cup.
Standing at 6’2”, Fofana possesses great physique and is capable of being a threat from indirect set-piece situations and equally capable of saving his team from any such situations, especially in his own 18-yard-box. His dominant heading ability saw him become one of the most efficient aerial players in Ligue 1 – winning a remarkable 73% of the contested duels in the 2019/20 season, only next Mateo Pavlovic of Angers. He manages to collect a significant amount of height in his jumps, allowing him to effectively get the first touch of the ball when in air. In a league such as the EPL, the ability to be physical enough is priceless to say the least, as forwards tend to be more aggressive.
As the demand for clever young centre-backs grows, players like Fofana make the cream of the crop defenders who are capable of excelling at the highest levels. He does not shy away from pushing himself into midfield when required during attacking situations – although it serves as an area of improvement for the youngster – his ball retention and passing play allows him to keep the ball moving without losing possession. He is usually very position-focused, sticking as an anchor with fellow centre-backs and aiding in play. He has featured so far for Leicester City alongside two additional centre-backs in a 3-man set up in defense within a larger 3-5-2/3-4-3 formation.
“We knew he was a top player for someone so young, and when we spoke to people out there and seeing all the clips, you could see he has anticipation as a defender, he has speed, he has aggression, he defends forward, so all the attributes we like here. He’s absolutely colossal for a young guy,” said Rodgers after Fofana’s steak of seven games for Leicester. He has the ability to lead the backline with his quick reactions and structural awareness of the team.
Speed, aggression, intelligence and concentration – Fofana has them all. He has adapted seamlessly into a mature centre-back in his first season at the highest level. Very few expected him to reach the consistent levels that he has for the Foxes. That’s not to say Fofana does not have weak points. The France U21 international can certainly improve his dribbling ability on the ball and reduce the time he spends on it, and subsequently accelerate the tempo of the game in general.
Although he can be vulnerable at times by getting dispossessed in key areas on field, with constant development, Fofana can become an elite player for some of the world’s top teams. He has a bright future ahead, something that need not be mentioned given that he’s already a starter at one of EPL’s best teams.
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Year : 2000 Height : 190cm
Country; France
Current club: Leicester City
Preferred foot : Right
Position : Centre Back
Born in Marseille in the south of France, with African roots, Fofana moved to St.Etienne’s youth academy in 2015 – when he was just 15 years old. Five years later, the 20- year-old centre-back has established himself as one of Premier League’s best defenders, helping Leicester City to a possible consolation 2nd position in England. In 2018, Fofana signed his first professional contract with St.Etienne at just 17 years of age. He starred just one season properly in Ligue 1 (2019/20) before he was offloaded to the Premier League after Leicester spotted his defensive talent. Fofana made headlines for the first time perhaps when St.Etienne played AS Monaco at the Geoffrey Stadium in November 2019, when he played out a commendable match and helped the visitors secure a crucial 1-0 victory.
His market value has tripled since his move from the French club and now Fofana is nothing short of a starter for one of England’s best teams. An adept defender with strong tackling skills and positional play, Wesley Fofana is a player with tremendous defensive abilities. Before Leicester officially made the move, a considerable number of top clubs such as Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Everton showed interest in signing him, but the Foxes came out victorious.
His main strengths lie in certain aspects of his game such as aerial prowess, pinpoint interceptions, tackling and positional sense of play, as mentioned before. Brendan Rodgers has helped Fofana develop into a fine defender capable of holding off the physicality of arguably the toughest league in the world. At just 20, he has shown he is capable of doing just that in his first season at the King Power Stadium. His tender age does not bar him from visualizing how to save opponents’ goal scoring situations, thanks to his game intelligence and cleverness in positioning himself in key moments which have helped Leicester this season to contend for the league title early in the season and win the FA Cup.
Standing at 6’2”, Fofana possesses great physique and is capable of being a threat from indirect set-piece situations and equally capable of saving his team from any such situations, especially in his own 18-yard-box. His dominant heading ability saw him become one of the most efficient aerial players in Ligue 1 – winning a remarkable 73% of the contested duels in the 2019/20 season, only next Mateo Pavlovic of Angers. He manages to collect a significant amount of height in his jumps, allowing him to effectively get the first touch of the ball when in air. In a league such as the EPL, the ability to be physical enough is priceless to say the least, as forwards tend to be more aggressive.
As the demand for clever young centre-backs grows, players like Fofana make the cream of the crop defenders who are capable of excelling at the highest levels. He does not shy away from pushing himself into midfield when required during attacking situations – although it serves as an area of improvement for the youngster – his ball retention and passing play allows him to keep the ball moving without losing possession. He is usually very position-focused, sticking as an anchor with fellow centre-backs and aiding in play. He has featured so far for Leicester City alongside two additional centre-backs in a 3-man set up in defense within a larger 3-5-2/3-4-3 formation.
“We knew he was a top player for someone so young, and when we spoke to people out there and seeing all the clips, you could see he has anticipation as a defender, he has speed, he has aggression, he defends forward, so all the attributes we like here. He’s absolutely colossal for a young guy,” said Rodgers after Fofana’s steak of seven games for Leicester. He has the ability to lead the backline with his quick reactions and structural awareness of the team.
Speed, aggression, intelligence and concentration – Fofana has them all. He has adapted seamlessly into a mature centre-back in his first season at the highest level. Very few expected him to reach the consistent levels that he has for the Foxes. That’s not to say Fofana does not have weak points. The France U21 international can certainly improve his dribbling ability on the ball and reduce the time he spends on it, and subsequently accelerate the tempo of the game in general.
Although he can be vulnerable at times by getting dispossessed in key areas on field, with constant development, Fofana can become an elite player for some of the world’s top teams. He has a bright future ahead, something that need not be mentioned given that he’s already a starter at one of EPL’s best teams.
Download the Scouting Report
Looking for realize your personal reports with our tools? Contact us for more info: info@thescoutingapp.com