David Datro Fofana ready for Burnley loan spell to end as deal to sign the sensational ace was accepted
For a hot minute, it looked like David Datro Fofana just might save Burnley. The 21-year-old scored four times in his first eight appearances after joining at the end of January, adding an assist as well, as the Clarets tried to climb out of the Premier League basement.
Alas, the goals (and starts) would both dry up after the March international break, with relegation made official this weekend in their 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. He played just a few token minutes at the end of that one.
Obviously, Fofana himself isn’t getting relegated. He’s coming back to Chelsea, and that’s something he’s looking forward to.
“There’s not much I have to say about our relegation. It’s football, there are ups but also downs, it can happen. We’ve got to get on with it. […] I had a bright start to my Burnley career but then the manager made his decisions. I don’t wanna go into details.”
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“I haven’t thought about [going back to Chelsea] yet, [but] I think I’ll go back and why not do the pre-season? [In January], I wanted to stay but some things happened…”
Fofana’s Burnley spell went a bit better than his time at Union Berlin in the first half of the season (2 goals, 1 assist, 1 handshake snub with the head coach in 17 appearances), but overall, it’s not been an impressive season from the young striker.
It’s tough to see where he might fit into this Chelsea team, and I’d expect another loan try for him after the preseason.
The Chelsea loanee wasn’t able to help keep the Clarets up, but he did pretty well in 6 months there, and now expects to come back to Chelsea for preseason, with an uncertain future ahead.
“I haven’t thought about [returning to Chelsea] yet. I think I’ll go back and why not do the pre-season with Chelsea? [In January], I wanted to stay but some things happened… but for sure I have nothing to envy Nicolas Jackson, who is [also] my friend.”
In January it did indeed seem like he would be staying with Broja on the way out – but instead both ended up loaned out. It was a risk which paid off, as Nicolas Jackson was able to play the rest of the campaign without injury or suspension. But come the summer we will have to start making serious decisions about the Ivorian’s future.
We bought him for €12m and his value is now just €10m according to Transfermarkt, despite his Premier League goals.
After a shocking first half of the season at Union Berlin where he barely played, Fofana made a solid impression in his early games at Burnley, helping spark their efforts to battle the drop which ultimately fizzled out in the last month.
