Chelsea sign centre-back Benoit Badiashile on 7.5 year deal

• Benoit Badiashile joins Chelsea from Monaco on a seven-and-a-half-year deal.
• The center-back has played 135 times for Monaco and earned two French caps.
• Chelsea’s main defensive target, Josko Gvardiol, could not reach a deal with RB Leipzig.

Chelsea announced on Thursday that it had agreed to a seven-and-a-half-year contract with Monaco for center-back Benoit Badiashile.

The 21-year-old Badiashile has played 135 times for Monaco and received two French caps after progressing through the national team’s youth divisions. Earlier this month, the sports media reported that the transfer cost €37 million.

“I’m very happy to be here at Chelsea. I’m so excited to start playing for this club,” Badiashile said in a statement on the club’s official website. “I can’t wait to see the fans and start playing in the best league in the world.”

He is the most recent development in the strategy of new co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who want to rebuild Chelsea’s roster under head coach Graham Potter by signing young players with great potential for long-term contracts.

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“We’re delighted to welcome Benoit to Chelsea,” Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali said in a joint statement.

Signed, sealed and delivered! 📨#BonjourBenoit 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/pE8cFT2cPo

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 5, 2023

“He’s an excellent young player who has quickly established a strong reputation for himself and has a huge amount of experience for his young age. We are sure he will form an important part of our team in the years ahead.”

Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig was Chelsea’s main defensive target, but the two clubs were unable to reach a deal on a transfer fee.

After Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen left Chelsea for free transfers in the summer, the highly regarded kid strengthens the Chelsea defense.

To fill in for those departures, Chelsea bought full-back Marc Cucurella from Brighton, who can also play in the center back position, along with centre backs Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly from Leicester City and Napoli, respectively.

However, Graham Potter’s team now has another option at the back thanks to the 6’4″ Badiashile as they try to recover from a dismal first half of the season and move up the Premier League standings.

Chelsea, who placed third in the league last season, is currently tenth after picking up only one victory in their previous seven league contests. Later on Thursday, they play second-place Manchester City.

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