Chelsea hand Benoit Badiashile incredible seven-year contract as Blues confirm signing of defender from Monaco in deal worth around £35million

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of defender Benoit Badiashile from Monaco on a seven-year contract.

The 21-year-old has impressed for the Ligue 1 side since breaking into the first-team in 2018 and despite interest from Newcastle last summer, Chelsea have landed the starlet.

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The fee is understood to be in the region of £35million and the Blues have tied Badiashile down until 2030 in a long-term deal.

In a brief message on Chelsea's official Twitter page, Badiashile said: "Hi Chelsea fans, very excited to be here, see you soon."

The France international fits the bill for Chelsea, who were in the market for a left-sided centre-back.

Initially, the Blues set their sights on Croatia’s World Cup cup sensation Josko Gvardiol, but were unable to agree a deal with his club RB Leipzig.

But Badiashile presented Chelsea with the opportunity to bolster their backline at a fraction of the Gvardiol's valuation.

Boss Graham Potter will welcome the arrival considering his lack of options at centre-back following the exits of Andreas Cristensen and Antonio Rudiger in July.

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Chelsea did manage to bring in Wesley Fofana from Leicester City but injury has hampered his start to life at Stamford Bridge, while Kalidou Koulibaly is yet to show his best form since arriving in the summer.

That has left 38-year-old Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah at his disposal, although left-back Marc Cucurella has also been deployed in a central role.

Badiashile was an unused substitute in Monaco’s 3-2 win at Auxerre on Wednesday as Ligue 1 resumed after the World Cup break.

He played no part in the principality side’s 1-0 victory over Brest on Sunday as he finalised his move to west London.

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His performances for Monaco earned him two caps for France in 2022 but was not selected for Les Bleus’ World Cup squad.

Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Malang Sarr has struggled for minutes during his loan spell at Monaco this season and could be set for a January exit.

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