Wesley Fofana takes action and drops Chelsea transfer hint after brutal Enzo Maresca verdict

Wesley Fofana has cast doubt over his future at Chelsea. The 24-year-old defender, who joined the Blues from Leicester City for about £70m in August 2022, suddenly faces an uncertain future at Stamford Bridge following his latest activity on social media.

On Wednesday morning, Fofana deleted every Chelsea-related post from his Instagram page. The France international also turned the comments section off from his most recent and only post since October 2024, while keeping up posts from his time at the King Power Stadium.

Fofana has been plagued with injuries since joining the west Londoners. In three years, he's featured just 34 times for Chelsea, with his last couple of appearances coming in March 2025 after an extended spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

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When Fofana suffered a muscle injury at the end of last year, Enzo Maresca claimed he could miss the rest of the season. The Blues boss said: "Unfortunately he could be out for the season.

"We don't know exactly for the entire season, but for sure he could be out for part of it," added Maresca. "Every time you ask me about Wes, I said many times I am in love with Wes, because he is that kind of defender that gives you the chance to press and be aggressive and to leave in one vs one with (Ollie) Watkins.

"We did exactly the same when Wes was injured with Benoit, one vs one with (Dominic) Solanke and [both defenders] can deal with that. It's very difficult to find that kind of defender. Now both are injured, and we are trying to find different solutions.

"For sure, Wes is a huge loss. I don't think this kind of injury can be compared to the rest. This one is muscle, and previously, he hasn't had any muscle problems, so it's completely different. It's a bit unlucky, but he will be back and he will be good in the way he was before he was injured."

A few days later, Fofana undermined Maresca, suggesting on social media that he could be back much sooner than doctors and Maresca claimed. Speaking to reporters ahead of a clash against Morecambe in the FA Cup, the Chelsea boss dismissed the Frenchman's claim.

"We speak the same language in terms of we communicate between each other in English and in French, so it has been quite clear," said Maresca. "I spoke with Wes - the 12 to 16 weeks the club mentioned is the situation. Wes is thinking he can recover sooner than that.

"We are all happy if Wes recovers [quicker] and will be available for tomorrow, but we are going to see. There is not any problem, I just told you what the medical staff said to me, that it is around 12 and 16 weeks. Wes is thinking he can recover earlier than that. We are all happy if Wes is back as soon as possible."

Fofana ignored professional advice and, rather than building his match fitness, he returned to action ahead of schedule. In March 2025, the defender started at right-back in a 1-0 win over Leicester and a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal before suffering another injury, extending his spell in the sidelines.

Having learned his lesson, he's been slowly building his match fitness. As part of his reintegration to the squad and rehabilitation programme, Fofana was named on the bench for Chelsea's goalless draw against Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

"Wes was on the bench," said Maresca, speaking to reporters at Stamford Bridge. "But, [he] was just on the bench to be with us, and the plan was for him not to get any minutes. Now hopefully, for the next one, we can use Wes for some minutes."

With Levi Colwill and Tosin Adarabioyo out, Josh Acheampong was given the nod. Pulling no punches, the Chelsea boss later explained why Fofana and Benoit Badiashile are not good enough to play the central centre-half role in his backline.

"The one in the middle in my way is so, so, so important," said Maresca. "We said many times that we are able to create chances and to attack in the right way if we are able to build in the right way. Levi was a huge part of our build-up and now he is out.

"We are trying to find solutions internally but the club know exactly what I think and we’ll see what happens. I think we need a central defender but we are also looking internally for the solutions. But as I said, the club knows what I think.

When pressed on whether Fofana or Badiashile could fill Colwill's shoes, Maresca replied: "He (Fofana) needs to be fit, first of all, and then he can do it. He played 45 minutes in that position and it was the first half against Bournemouth away if you remember – probably one of the worst halves since we started.

"Benoit playing in the middle, the Conference League final, first half, we were losing 1-0. Then we changed with Levi and we won 3-1. So it's not the same."

Fofana doesn't appear to have taken Maresca's brutal assessment very well, it seems...