What does Chelsea do with David Datro Fofana?
Despite only arriving in January 2023, speculation continues to grow regarding the future of the Ivorian striker.
On the 18th of February, in an unsurprising turn of events, Graham Potter’s Chelsea lost 1-0 to Southampton. Whilst it was not the last game he would manage, it is remembered as a game where most people involved with the club lost faith with Potter, especially the fans.
However, as one career at Chelsea was coming to an end, one seemed to emerge, as that match marked the first start for Ivorian striker, David Datro Fofana.
Arriving from the Norwegian side Molde in January for around £11 million, and adorning the number 27 shirt, Fofana put on quite the show for the Blues support. Despite not getting on the scoresheet and making a few errors, the striker displayed superb ball-carrying and passing, effectively supplying his Chelsea teammates in the attacking third. On top of this, his tenacity was also on full show as he continued to win the ball in the opponent’s half throughout the first 45 minutes of football.
Fofana was the best player on the field that day, but he certainly caught the attention of many fans that day, especially as they were subjected to the attacking woes of Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the first half of the season.
Chelsea seemed to have gotten their hands on a superb talent and many were keen to see what he could offer after the half-time whistle. Alas, Potter had other ideas and made the peculiar decision to remove Datro Fofana during the break as Chelsea went on to lose 1-0.
What was even more odd, is that Datro Fofana rarely featured after that, only managing a 12-minute cameo in a 4-1 loss to Manchester United in May. No one expected he would play every minute, but he had displayed enough talent to be a viable option from the bench. It was a disappointing first-half season for the youngster,
Thankfully, Datro Fofana was able to secure a loan with Union Berlin for the 2023/24 season. This was particularly exciting as the German side was a team on the up, and had qualified for the UEFA Champions League that season.
Unfortunately, this loan was not a success. A combination of only one goal in the Bundesliga and a fallout with the manager saw the loan cut short in January 2024. There was a chance he could have stepped in whilst Nicolas Jackson was with the Senegal national team at AFCON (taking place in January and February), but Datro Fofana was soon on the move once more.
A slightly better loan move with Burnley followed, with the striker netting four times in the Premier League. However, despite the initial promise the loan quickly fizzled out, and Datro Fofana failed to make an impression during the business end of the season, and Burnley were ultimately relegated.
As Datro Fofana returns to the club, question marks are beginning to emerge regarding his future. The impressive performance at Southampton is 18 months ago now, so should Chelsea cut their losses this summer, or should the board maintain faith in one of their earliest signings?
Option 1 - Keep
This is arguably the least likely outcome of the situation, but it is not impossible.
It is likely that strikers Armando Broja and Deivid Washington will not be at the club for the forthcoming season. Clubs are currently lining up bids for Broja, whilst Washington is in desperate need of first-team football in England, so a loan seems to be on the horizon. This would leave Chelsea with only two strikers, Datro Fofana and Jackson.
Although it is likely a new striker will be added to the squad, more rotation will be required for the new season. The UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) will add at least 10 games to the season in the likely event Chelsea win their play-off game, which means a lot of Thursday-Sunday gameweeks. Rotating players in and out of the first XI is critical to avoid fatigue and injury, which has been a consistent issue over the last few seasons.
Having the ability to call on a decent striker would benefit this, particularly as Jackson has picked up an ankle injury whilst on international duty. If this develops into a long-term issue keeping Datro Fofana will be paramount.
Option 2 - Loan
The two previous loans Datro Fofana has been on have been pretty lackluster, however sending him out on a well-thought-out one could change his fortunes.
The Union Berlin loan seemed alright at the time as it would have been hard to predict the fallout between Datro Fofana and the coach, but the Burnley one less so. The striker was sent to a club where he was expected to help lift them out of the relegation zone - a pretty heavy burden for such a young player.
If Chelsea can find Datro Fofana a club without such heavy expectations he should able to thrive. Maybe a mid-table side in top-five European league would be best.
If the loan goes well, he could be in with a chance of being part of the squad going into the 2025/26 season. Alternatively, it could further advertise the player to potential buyers and increase the future transfer fee.
Or Chelsea might look for a transfer sooner rather than later.
Option 3 - Transfer
It has been reported that the Chelsea board believes they can get a decent amount for the striker and could be looking to cash in on the Ivorian. However, after the poor season he has had, one can argue that the club will struggle to make a profit on the £11 million man. Either way, the club seems to be open to selling the player.
Furthermore, Chelsea are eyeing up multiple strikers this transfer window, including the likes of Julien Alvarez, Jhon Duran, and Dominic Solanke, which is a clear indicator that Datro Fofana is not an integral part of the squad next season.
It might be best for both parties if Datro Fofana is found a new permanent home. The Ivorian striker will hopefully get more playing time and be a more important player in a club side, whilst Chelsea will get a small boost to their transfer funds.
It will be quite a brutal transfer if Chelsea gets rid of what seems like a great talent so quickly into his tenure at the club, but Chelsea’s transfers can be pretty heartless at times. All we can do is hope the club won’t come to regret this like with Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, and pre-2021 Romelu Lukaku.