Promising Ivorian striker David Datro Fofana formally completed his transfer to English Premier League giants Chelsea FC, signing a six-year contract after the London club paid €12 million to Norwegian club Molde FK. The 20-year-old scored 22 goals in 39 appearances for Norwegian champions Molde during the 2022 season causing Fofana’s name to be mentioned among the top prospects in European football. Fofana recently made his debut for the Ivory Coast senior national team, appearing in two friendly matches for Les Éléphants in November against Burkina Faso and Burundi after previously appearing in qualifying for the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) while a member of the Académie de Football Amadou Diallo de Djékanou (AFAD Djékanou) in Ivory Coast’s Ligue 1.
Chelsea described Fofana as “a prolific goalscorer and one of European football’s most promising young talents” in its announcement of the signing. Molde was the club where Manchester City striker Erling Haaland made his breakthrough and expectations are high for Fofana’s future. At this point it is unknown whether Fofana will remain with Chelsea for the second half of the 2022-23 Premier League season with manager Graham Potter stating the forward will be evaluated at training before determining whether he will stay in London or be loaned out to receive more playing time.
