Chelsea’s 41ST departure of the summer time is revealed
- The striker spent last season at Burnley and is now jetting off to Greece
- Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling are among the host of players to have left
- SOCCER A-Z: Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube. New episodes every Wednesday
Chelsea are closing in on confirming their 41st departure of a hectic summer by loaning David Datro Fofana to AEK Athens before the Greek transfer window closes on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old, who spent the second half of last season with Burnley, has agreed terms with AEK. They will also have a £20million option to buy the forward if he impresses.
Chelsea have seriously trimmed their bloated squad this summer, with 40 players having already been loaned, sold or released by the Premier League club.
Thiago Silva was the first to depart after the expiry of his contact at the end of last season, with other senior stars such as Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah, Armando Broja, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Romelu Lukaku later following him through the exit.
Chelsea signed Datro Fofana from Norwegian club Molde for around £8m in January 2023, and they stand to make a healthy profit if AEK go on to sign him permanently.
David Datro Fofana has become the 41st player to leave Chelsea in a chaotic summer
New manager Enzo Maresca is shuffling the deck at the Blues with a string of outgoings
The Ivory Coast international made only four appearances in all competitions for the Blues and never scored as he was loaned to Union Berlin and then Burnley.
Chelsea still have other players up for grabs with transfer windows still open elsewhere such as Turkey. Ben Chilwell is the most high profile, while Deivid Washington, Alex Matos and Harvey Vale are still available for sale or loan.
The striker joins Gallagher, who went to Atletico, and Sterling, who moved to Arsenal on loan, as well as 38 others in leaving the side this summer.
Among the most notable names on the eye-watering list of departees are Romelu Lukaku and Thiago Silva.
The Belgium striker headed to Napoli after a frustrating three-year spell at the Bridge having made his return to Chelsea for £95m in 2021.
Meanwhile 39-year-old Silva, who made 115 appearances for the Blues after arriving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in 2020, headed to his home country and Fluminense.
Lewis Hall, 19, traded London for Newcastle in a deal worth £28m while Ian Maatsen moved to Aston Villa for £37m after spending the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Joao Felix has made a grand return, arriving from Atletico Madrid for £44m
The summer was notable for the bevy of outgoings with the likes of Raheem Sterling all escaping the so-called ‘bomb squad’
The attempted clear-out at Stamford Bridge involved a selection of unwanted players training separately as part of a bomb squad which at one point had 15 first-team members, including Gallagher, Lukaku and Sterling.
The shake-up at Chelsea has not so far changed the fortunes at the club with Maresca’s side gaining just four points in the first three matches.
The Blues also narrowly scraped past in the Europa Conference League play-off against Swiss side Servette, embarrassingly losing their away tie 2-1.
