A marquee Chelsea player was quizzed about his future at Stamford Bridge this week, and about the prospect of joining one specific club.
Chelsea return to action against Bournemouth this weekend
Following the September international break, Enzo Maresca has been preparing his squad for their first Premier League game back in action, as the Blues gear up to play Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
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Chelsea head into the contest on a promising run of form, barring their opening weekend defeat to champions Man City. Maresca's side put Wolves to the sword with a 6-2 win at Molineux, and were very unfortunate not to beat Crystal Palace in their last game, instead settling for a 1-1 draw.
The west Londoners dominated their derby against Palace, repeatedly knocking on the door and creating a host of chances, but Chelsea weren't quite ruthless enough on the day and were constantly denied by an excellent Dean Henderson in the Eagles net.
Player
Match Rating
Cole Palmer
7.6
Nicolas Jackson
7.2
Moises Caicedo
7.2
Eberechi Eze
7.2
Dean Henderson
7.1
Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth won't be easy customers, though, as they come into the game off the back of an unbeaten Premier League run.
The Cherries held both Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United to 1-1 draws before sparking an exceptional comeback away to Everton from 2-0 down, eventually seizing all three points at Goodison Park with a smash-and-grab 3-2 victory in the dying minutes.
Bournemouth's tails will be up after their memorable afternoon on Merseyside, so Maresca will need all of his elite Chelsea stars on top form. Centre-backs Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill will be instrumental in stopping Bournemouth, with the duo starting all three of their opening league games thus far.
"Fofana's a really good player and I really enjoy playing with him," said Colwill on playing alongside Fofana.
"He’s so aggressive and I think we complement each other really well. Behind the scenes he’s such a great lad. I get on really well with him and I think everyone in the team gets on really well with him.
"We’ve created loads of chances by building from the back. You can see the way the gaffer wants us to play and there's definitely loads of positives to take. We are building. We've only had a few games with the new gaffer, but it's really exciting.
"All the players are excited for it and I think the fans should be too."
Wesley Fofana teases move to Marseille from Chelsea
Fofana has been called the next Virgil van Dijk, but has been unfortunate with injuries since making a £75 million move to Chelsea from Leicester City in 2022. However, there are early signs of promise around the 23-year-old, who was actually approached about joining Marseille in the summer.
Speaking to Free FOOT, the defender admitted he considered the Ligue 1 side's offer, as he is a Marseille supporter and holds a deep connection with the club. Fofana teased a future move to Marseille from Chelsea, refusing to rule out that possibility, but also says he's currently concentrating on his time in England.
“I had a conversation that really touched me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t weigh it up. It was from Benatia, Marseille’s sporting director," said Fofana (as transcribed by Chelsea Chronicle).
“It touched me and I think everyone knows why. I thought about it but there you go, the current objective is to succeed at Chelsea, to try and play regularly, and to establish myself at my club.
“But OM, we’ll see one day. I still have a contract until 2029 and we’ll see after that. I have never hidden it, [Marseille] is my city, my club, I am an OM supporter. We’ll see if I end up being at Marseille in a few years, or if I stay at Chelsea for the rest of my career.”
Fofana earns around £200,000-per-week at Chelsea, and he'll be looking to justify those wages over the course of 2024/2025. The Frenchman has made just 23 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions since joining, due to his fitness issues, but now appears to be one of Maresca's favoured centre-backs for this season.