Chelsea have signed France defender Benoit Badiashile from Monaco on a seven-and-a-half-year deal, the Premier League club have confirmed.
The 21-year-old has moved to Stamford Bridge for a reported £35m fee, having made over 100 appearances in Ligue 1 for the Principality side.
He has also played in the Champions League and been capped twice by the French national team, making his debut for Didier Deschamps' side in a 2-1 win against Austria last September.
Badiashile becomes Chelsea’s third major central-defensive signing this season following the arrivals of Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana during the summer transfer window.
"I’m very happy to be here at Chelsea," Badiashile told the club’s website. "I’m so excited to start playing for this club. I can’t wait to see the fans and start playing in the best league in the world."
He is the club’s second signing of the January window after striker David Datro Fofana joined from Norwegian side Molde earlier this week.
"We’re delighted to welcome Benoit to Chelsea," chairman Todd Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali told the club’s website.
"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."
Meanwhile, Benfica coach Roger Schmidt has hit out at the Blues' methods in their pursuit of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, suggesting the relationship between the clubs has broken down.
Chelsea are believed to have offered to meet the release clause of €120m for the World Cup star but want to spread the fee over three seasons to comply with UEFA's financial fair play rules. Benfica, however, want the full amount up front before they will agree to a transfer.
"There is a club who want our player," said Schmidt. "They know we don't want to sell the player. They try to get the player on their side, and they know they can only [buy] the player when they pay the clause, so it's a very clear situation.
"It's disrespectful to all of us, to Benfica, and I cannot accept what they are doing. To make the player crazy and pretend they can pay the clause, and then later they want to negotiate... it is not what I understand to be a good relationship between clubs who wish to discuss [a transfer]."
Schmidt said he didn't blame Fernandez for the situation.
"Enzo is a very good guy and a fantastic player. I like him a lot, we all do and of course, we want him to stay at Benfica.
"His situation is not easy. He played in the World Cup, became a world champion, and received proposals.
"There's a lot of money on the table, and in this situation, as a young player, you get a little confused when you think about it. I think it’s something that people can understand."
Fernandez started Benfica’s 3-0 defeat at Braga last Friday, but he missed two training sessions ahead of the Portimonense game after returning to Argentina without permission.
Schmidt, who said Fernandez would face consequences over that decision, said: "He was not well last week. He went to Argentina without permission, missed training, and that’s not acceptable."
