Chelsea handed transfer windfall 'blow' after 'talks' with European club

Chelsea look set to miss out on a late transfer windfall despite having been locked in talks over a possible deal. The Blues managed to get rid of much of their so-called ‘bomb squad’ in the final days of the transfer window, with a number of players either leaving on loan or on permanent deals.

Keen to avoid overcrowded training sessions, Enzo Maresca separated the unwanted players and kept them apart while they searched for opportunities elsewhere. Maresca was criticised for the practice, but he maintained that he was left with little choice having seen overcrowding cause issues at Stamford Bridge over the last couple of years.

The likes of Trevoh Chalobah and Raheem Sterling found themselves in that situation but did manage to find new clubs on deadline day. The remaining bomb squad players have been welcomed back to the squad for the most part, including Carney Chukwuemeka.

The player who arguably faces the most uncertain future is David Datro Fofana, who joined the club in 2023 from Molde, since spending time on loan at Union Berlin and Burnley. Fofana was made available for transfer this summer, clearly some way from breaking into the first team, but a deal was not forthcoming.

There was, however, hope that he could be sold after the window due to interest from Greece, where the window remains open. AEK Athens were said to have expressed an interest, but in a fresh update form journalist Nizaar Kinsella, despite talks having intensified ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, the deal is now off, with AEK Athens going elsewhere, and to Maccabi Haifa’s Frantzdy Pierrot in particular.

With the Greek window closing on Wednesday and the Turkish window on Thursday, it looks as though Fofana could be stuck at Chelsea. If that ends up being the case, the 21-year-old could find himself with the development side more often than not.