'Transfer collapsed' - West Ham and Everton £20m summer target in 'frantic' search for new club

West Ham and Everton were prepared to see summer transfer target David Datro Fofana complete a late move to AEK Athens yesterday but that deal has hit a snag, leaving the 21-year-old still on the hunt for a new club.

Fofana had been linked with several Premier League sides during the summer window after netting four top flight goals on a short loan spell at Burnley last term. The Hammers were one of those clubs linked with the player as Julen Lopetegui began his search for a new forward.

No deal emerged between Chelsea and a top flight rival with the Blues wanting around £20 million for the forward they only purchased last year. On Wednesday, it appeared that Fofana had completed a move to Greek side AEK Athens but it has now been confirmed by talkSPORT that the transfer has 'collapsed'.

The outlet believes that Chelsea are now 'frantically' searching for an alternate club to get Fofana off their books as Enzo Maresca continues to trim the fat around his squad. AEK Athens had agreed a season-long loan for the player with the option to make the move permanent for £20 million next summer.

The Turkish transfer window remains open until September 18 with Chelsea now working to strike a transfer or loan deal with a club in the country.

Fofana's goals for Burnley included a 26-minute brace against Fulham and a goal away at West Ham in March. Lopetegui was in the market for a new striker during the summer and were reported to have tabled a £12.6 million bid for Fofana in July by AfricaFoot, before signing Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund.

Everton were also linked with the Chelsea youngster and GiveMeSport reported in September that the Toffees had been offered the player as part of a loan swap for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. That proposal was turned down by the Merseyside outfit.

With the Premier League transfer deadline having passed at the end of August, there is no chance of top flight sides bringing the player in from Chelsea before the January transfer window. In order for that to happen, the Blues would have to release Fofana as a free agent.

The striker is contracted at Stamford Bridge until 2029, making any mutual contract termination unlikely. Chelsea also hope to make back the £8.4 million paid to Molde to sign the player in January 2023.