Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Benoit Badiashile from French Ligue 1 side, AS Monaco.
The French defender signed a seven-and-a-half-year deal with the Premier League side in a deal worth £32.76m.
The 22-year-old already boasts significant experience in the French top flight and in Europe, where he has featured in the Champions League and Europa League for Monaco, amassing almost 150 appearances in all competitions to date.
‘I’m very happy to be here at Chelsea. I’m so excited to start playing for this club,” Badiashile said after joining the Premier League club.
“I can’t wait to see the fans and start playing in the best league in the world,” he added.
Chelsea Chairman Todd Boehly and co-controlling owner Behdad Eghbali added: “We’re delighted to welcome Benoit to Chelsea. 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.”
Badiashile earned a regular place as Monaco’s left-sided centre-back while still a teenager and was handed his international debut by Didier Deschamps back in September aged just 21.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are still in talks with Benfica to sign Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández who was part of Lionel Scaloni’s squad that won the 2022 World Cup.