Chelsea's David Datro Fofana becomes the 41ST player to leave Stamford Bridge amid a frantic summer of deals - as striker books loan move to AEK Athens

Chelsea's David Datro Fofana becomes the 41ST player to leave Stamford Bridge amid a frantic summer of deals - as striker books loan move to AEK Athens
By: dailymail Posted On: September 11, 2024 View: 109

  • 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 

David Datro Fofana has become the 41st player to leave Chelsea in a chaotic summer at Stamford Bridge, following the completion of a loan move to AEK Athens.

A hectic transfer window in west London has seen a host of players enter and exit the club as new manager Enzo Maresca shuffles the deck under the surveillance of owner Todd Boehly.

In came Pedro Neto for £50million from Wolves and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for £30m from Leicester, while Joao Felix made a grand return, arriving from Atletico Madrid for £44m.

The summer was more notable for the bevy of outgoings with the likes of Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling all escaping the so-called 'bomb squad', which at one point consisted of 15 players, and heading for the door.

The latest such player is Fofana who today jetted off to Greece for another loan spell, after spending the last campaign at Burnley, as per Fabrizio Romano on X, formerly Twitter.

David Datro Fofana has become the 41st player to leave Chelsea in a chaotic summer
The striker spent the last campaign at Burnley and is now off on loan to AEK Athens
New manager Enzo Maresca is shuffling the deck at the Blues with a string of outgoings

The Italian journalist posted: 'David Datro Fofana leaves Chelsea to join AEK Athens on loan deal, agreement reached. 

'It also includes a buy option clause for £20m not mandatory, up to AEK in June 2025 to decide about it. 

'Fofana has accepted, paperwork time now.'

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'
Fofana joins Conor Gallagher who went to Atletico Madrid for a fee of £35m
The Blues also narrowly scraped past in the Europa Conference League play-off against Swiss side Servette

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.

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