[2] Helan controversially[3] signed for Manchester City in February 2009 after deciding to see out the remainder of his professional contract with Rennes, and was accordingly suspended from international football for a month.
[6] He made his debut for the club on 25 September as a 106th-minute substitute as they lost a Football League Cup third round match to Aston Villa.
[8] He made his professional debut for his new loan club in a 3–0 win over Yeovil Town at Huish Park after coming on as a substitute for Jon-Paul McGovern.
[18] On 29 December 2012, in a match against Huddersfield Town which ended 0–0, he was involved in a bizarre incident where he was "twice" booked by the referee but did not get sent off as the first yellow card was mistakenly given to his teammate Michail Antonio for diving.
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Hélan suffered an abductor strain during a friendly match against Doncaster Rovers and was expected to be sidelined between four and six weeks.
[34] Five days later, on 4 January 2015, Hélan played 90 minutes against his former club, Manchester City, in third round of FA Cup, which they lost 2–1.
[38] Following a loan spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Hélan made his return to the Sheffield Wednesday first team, coming on as a late substitute, and was booked soon after in a 1–1 draw against Derby County on 23 April 2016.
[40] Hélan featured in the Championship play-off final, coming on as a substitute for Ross Wallace in the 63rd minute, in a 1–0 loss against Hull City.
[42] Hélan made his Wolves debut two days later, making his first start and playing 90 minutes, in a 2–1 win over Derby County.
[46] Although he appeared once for Sheffield Wednesday in the 2016–17 season,[47] it was announced on 18 September 2016 that Hélan had decided to retire from football, at the age of 24, in order to focus on his Islamic religion, his disillusionment with the game being another factor.
[49] Hélan is a devout Muslim and spent increasing amounts of time at a mosque in Saudi Arabia that he intended to go to once he retired.