In an effort to make more significant loan departmental changes in time for the second half of the season, Chelsea is prepared to terminate David Datro Fofana’s contract with Union Berlin this month. The youthful attacker joined the Blues in the winter of last year, but he has struggled ever since, losing favor fast in Germany.
Fofana has struggled to establish himself at Chelsea after joining on a cheap contract from Molde a year ago as a relatively unknown quantity. Last season, he only made a few brief outings in the league. As he prepared for first team experience, his transfer to Union Berlin and the Bundesliga promised to alter that.
But he lost his regular spot in the team due to a falling out with the manager at the time, Urs Fischer. Union has only triumphed in two of the previous 13 league games and is dangerously in the relegation zone. It’s quite a letdown after the team unexpectedly placed fourth the previous year, and this is not the kind of environment where Fofana thrives.
According to sources, the 21-year-old will shortly terminate his loan, and preparations are already being made for an urgent replacement. He’ll probably sign with Sevilla soon after, hoping to help the Spanish team bounce back from a dismal first half of the campaign.
After 19 games, Sevilla is one point above the drop zone in La Liga in 16th place. Chelsea sees it as an opportunity to turn things around after a challenging start for Fofana. So far, the club’s loan system has mostly failed a player who, given his price and potential to develop into a superb forward, arrived with minimal risk.C
Though his agent has denied rumors that it will end this month, Hakim Ziyech is not enjoying his time in Galatasary, and even with Thibaut Courtois out of the picture, Kepa Arrizabalaga has fallen to second choice goalkeeper at Real Madrid. In France, Diego Moreira and Lyon are struggling, and Gabriel Slonina isn’t doing much better either.
Andrey Santos returning early from Nottingham Forest is a recurring theme in trades this year. In the upcoming weeks, he might fill in for Lesley Ugochukwu and Romeo Lavia, who are both now injured. Prior to being sent away to acquire experience due to the entrance of increased competition, Santos had been a key member of the team during the preseason. For the remainder of the season, Alex Matos has been loaned to Huddersfield.
The same goal applied to Fofana, whom the team will view as a simple means of generating revenue on a player trade that is low-risk but may yield modest rewards in the long run. If all had gone according to plan, Fofana may have been considered as Nicolas Jackson’s backup during the next six weeks while he is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
He could have served as Christopher Nkunku’s backup if he wasn’t quite ready to take that step. While he is still active, Deivid Washington has contributed more to the Under-21 team than the first squad. January is going to be a tough month because there are already seven games scheduled, and that number might go up to eight or nine if Chelsea needs a replay to win this tie and advance to the next round.
If things had gone well for Fofana, his availability might have been crucial, but in all likelihood, this is just another loan for the young player as Pochettino considers his other possibilities.