Why tricky winger turned down Chelsea – any why Blues might not mind in 12 months | OneFootball

Chelsea made a lot of moves this summer in the transfer market, some of which came off and some of which didn’t.

Back in July, there was a lot of talk about Lyon winger Malick Fofana. After a breakout season in France, Premier League teams were hovering. The Blues and Liverpool were particularly closely linked. However once the window closed Fofana was still at Lyon, and he’s now explained why.

Winger on why he decided against Premier League move

Malick Fofana playing for Lyon. (Photo by Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)

“There was interest from those two clubs, but ultimately it wasn’t concrete enough,” Fofana said in quotes picked up by CaughtOffside.

“I thought about a transfer, but I think it’s more important now that I play a lot, and that has to happen at Lyon. Because I still have progress to make.

“Of course [I want to go to the 2026 World Cup], but I realise I still have a lot to prove. I’ve already made progress. I’m now more decisive and more involved in the game. I’m just a normal lad and I’m keeping my cool. I don’t focus on the media either, I just do what I love to do: dribble and score.”

It’s a smart move on his part – better to shine than be benched at a top side.

Chelsea hope to move on and succeed without winger

Chelsea’s attacking options were ultimately bolstered by the late additions of Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Buonanotte. We would imagine most fans would rather have had Fofana, but given he ended up staying in France, there’s no reason we can’t make another attempt next summer.

But with Estevao Willian and Geovany Quenda hopefully both flourishing at that point anyway, and with top players like Pedro Neto already in place, hopefully we won’t even be thinking about buying more wingers.