Benoit Badiashile warms up in the Conference League. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

'I expected' – Benoit Badiashile reveals one major thing that’s surprised him about Chelsea

Originally posted on Chelsea News | By Charlie Patrick | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 2:45 AM ET

Chelsea defender Benoit Badiashile has revealed the one thing which has surprised him about the club in a recent interview.

Badaishile joined the Blues from Monaco in January 2023 in a deal worth £35m, and had a brilliant first six months at the club playing alongside Thiago Silva.

However, he’s suffered a number of injury issues since, and hasn’t been able to establish himself as a regular in the first team picture.

Benoit Badiashile reveals what’s surprised him most about Chelsea

Badaishile is now fit again and put in a good performance against Liverpool, but was forced off during the second half.

It’s not thought to be a serious injury, and Badiashile is likely to be in contention to start Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest.

Enzo Maresca has spoken about how good he thinks Badiashile is, and the Frenchman has got an opportunity to establish himself in the Chelsea side this season with all the uncertainty at centre back.

In January it’ll be three years since Badiashile joined the club, and he’s revealed the one thing that’s surprised him since arriving.

“Maybe the winning mentality,” he told Chelsea’s official website.

“Not so much surprised me, because I knew it would be like that when I came here, but it’s a lot bigger than I expected.”

Chelsea won both the Club World Cup and the Conference League last season, and will be hoping to add more silverware to the cabinet this season.

Enzo Maresca’s centre back dilemma

Trevoh Chalobah, Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo are all expected to be available for the Forest game, and Maresca now has a decision to make at centre back.

The centre back pairing has been chopped and changed at the start of the season, although Chalobah and Fofana did start back to back games against Manchester United and Lincoln.

Now is the time for Maresca to pick his preferred pair and stick with it, as the last thing you want is a lack of continuity at centre back.

This article first appeared on Chelsea News and was syndicated with permission.

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