He is 22 years old, but some people have already been calling for him to play for France since he moved to England in 2020. Chelsea centre-back Fofana rounds off a strong list of candidates, joining Ibrahima Konaté and Dayot Upamecano among the promising young centre-halves. Having recovered from the injuries that plagued a season at Leicester and his debut for Chelsea, the Marseilles-born defender will be hoping to play his first match for the French club and prove that he too has something to offer.

A complicated start at Saint-Etienne

Born in Marseille, Fofana spent most of his formative years at Saint-Etienne. With Les Verts, nothing is easy. As he has explained in the past, the defender had to work hard to climb the ladder.

"My debut at Saint-Etienne was very difficult. Saint-Étienne wasn't easy, it was a real battle. I arrived in a 'training centre' environment with a lot of rules and regulations, which was difficult for me. Everyone is there to succeed and you have to be respected," he explained in an interview posted on YouTube at the beginning of February. On top of that, his failures at school didn't make things any easier. Punished and rejected by the training centre for four months in 2015, he was then recalled.

"When I come back, I'm totally different. I've realised how lucky I am. I'm a different person. I put things in place in my head. I'm setting up a routine, being the first at training, I'm becoming a man, it's put a real slap in my face."

He then signed his first professional contract in 2018. But even once he had it, a starting berth was not guaranteed. The defender worked hard and played 20 games in Ligue 1 (between May 2019 and October 2020).

England, and Leicester in particular, then became interested in him. The Foxes offered 35 million euros (£30 million). for his transfer, and Saint-Etienne could not resist. The 20-year-old would join the 2015/16 English champions in August 2020.

A rise to prominence at Leicester

The Frenchman made his Premier League debut in the autumn of 2020. Making a name for himself across the Channel thanks to his ability to be both versatile and dominant in one-on-one situations, as well as being comfortable passing the ball, Fofana quickly became one of the revelations of the 2020/21 season. As a result, he was called up to the French Under-21 squad and played seven games with them. He helped Leicester to fifth place in the league at the end of the season.

However, the romance was short-lived. During a match between the Foxes and Villarreal in August 2021, the defender suffered a fractured fibula in his left leg. As a result, he was sidelined until March 2022. But that didn't get him down, quite the opposite.

"There were doubts during that period. But I had to come back stronger. Injury is part of football, there are ups and downs. Now we have to make sure we don't stay at the bottom," he explained in his interview with Vista.

And that's exactly what he did. As soon as he returned (during the second leg in the Europa League last 16 against Rennes), the Frenchman scored a goal. His team lost 2-1. He was back in form. The Foxes, however, only managed eighth place in the Premier League. Courted by Chelsea, he moved to London for 81 million euros (£69.4 million) with possible bonuses.

The dream of making it big at Chelsea and with Les Bleus

Fofana's debut season with the Blues did not live up to his expectations. On the one hand, the many changes made at Chelsea have resulted in a succession of defeats and on the other, injury once again plagued the Frenchman's season.

While he started the season with a bang, he quickly fell apart from October 2022 onwards. Against AC Milan in the Champions League, he scored a goal but went off at half-time. With a knee injury, he did not play again until February. He relapsed a few weeks later, before ending the Londoners' disastrous year on the last line of the team.

His performances nevertheless brought him to the attention of Didier Deschamps. Already selected in March 2023 to make up for Raphael Varane's absence, he was officially recalled this June to make his senior debut. And he makes no secret of his pride. "I've always played football hoping to pull on a France shirt," he told reporters at a press conference on Saturday, June 10th.

At just over 1.90 metres tall, the youngster can work wonders in central defence and in the air from set pieces. An ace tackler and passer, he is now one of the many options available to Deschamps. With Euro 2024 in his sights, he couldn't dream of anything better.