Chelsea fans fume ‘this is really getting boring’ as £20m transfer for forgotten star collapses
CHELSEA fans fumed “this is really getting boring” after a £20million transfer for forgotten flop David Datro Fofana collapsed.
The Blues have already bid farewell to an incredible FORTY stars this summer, with the likes of academy graduates Conor Gallagher and Ian Maatsen sacrificed to the gods of PSR.
David Datro Fofana’s move from Chelsea to AEK Athens has collapsedGetty
Chelsea also cashed in on flops such as Romelu Lukaku, while club icon Thiago Silva departed on a free transfer.
And they even managed to offload Raheem Sterling to Arsenal on deadline day.
But with transfer windows still open in several countries such as Turkey and Greece, there was still time for another exit.
Versatile forawrd Fofana, 21, joined Chelsea from Molde 18 months ago for £8.5million but only ended up making four appearances.
He took in loans at Union Berlin and Burnley last season.
And Chelsea were hoping to cash in by offloading him to Greek outfit AEK Athens this week.
Terms were agreed on a loan deal, with the Super League giants also retaining the option to buy Fofana for £20m next summer.
However, Fabrizio Romano claims the deal is now off after Chelsea and AEK failed to reach a final agreement before the Greek transfer window slammed shut.
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It’s reckoned both clubs got as far as exchanging documents with a view to Fofana penning a contract.
But it fell through at the final hurdle and the three-time Ivory Coast international will now remain at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea will lose their soul by leaving Stamford Bridge
By Matt Penn
JUST what London needs – another £1billion bowl-shaped, soulless football stadium.
No offence to Spurs, because theirs looks great, but it’s not like they had years of title-winning history to celebrate at White Hart Lane.
Arsenal moved on from Highbury a couple of years after their last Premier League title win in 2004, and to no avail, they’ve been chasing that glory ever since.
And the less said about West Ham‘s move from Upton Park, the better. The Olympic Stadium pales in significance to Upton Park, where binoculars weren’t needed to see the pitch from Row Z.
It’s no secret Chelsea fans have become disillusioned with the club since Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali took over from Roman Abramovich two years ago.
The sacking of two full-time managers in that time, a 12th-place finish in the league, no European football, billions spent on Brazilian teenagers you’ve never heard of and civil war between the owners have turned the club into a laughing stock.
Seems like the perfect time to revamp plans to leave Stamford Bridge, doesn’t it?
According to The Guardian, Chelsea are in talks to move to a new 60,000-seater site in Earl’s Court, something they’ve attempted before.
Chelsea are said to have made plans for the Lillie Bridge depot site as an area that could be developed in a move that could cost hundreds of millions.
Forget that so much else still needs fixing on the pitch, that the results are still not going the way they should, that players still can’t seem to click on a consistent basis.
The owners, who are said to be looking to buy each other out already, might not think it, and the seats might be a little rusty, but fans do value tradition.
The Bridge has been a place supporters can call home every other Saturday. It’s raw, the stands are close to the pitch, it has four sides, and most importantly, it’s owned by the fans.
For any deal to go through, Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), a group made up of over 14,000 fans, have to approve a move away from the 42,000-seater stadium.
On the other hand, redvelopment of Stamford Bridge would see the team move away from the stadium for a number of years, likely double the three years Tottenham spent at Wembley.
But why not overhaul each stand one-by-one? Both Liverpool and Fulham had stands refurbished and they were able to stay put. There are also plans for Crystal Palace to do the same.
If Boehly and Eghbali are so desperate to put money at the forefront of their decision-making, then go about it in a way which will appease fans.
Sadly, football isn’t really about fans anymore, and it’d be easy to say Chelsea will lose their soul if they leave Stamford Bridge.
But you fear they already have.
Fofana is now likely to spend the term training with Chelsea’s “bomb squad” under the eye of loan manager Carlo Cudicini.
Other players who failed to secure an exit will also remain there, with Ben Chilwell and Deivid Washington among them.
But fans were left fed up with another piece of Chelsea business in the market, with the Blues also signing 11 players.
One said: “This is really getting boring now.”
Another declared: “Another young guy’s career ruined.”
One noted: “Our youth team is going to be class at least.”
Another added: “Fofana does not deserve this saga.”
All 40 Chelsea exits this summer
Ian Maatsen to Borussia Dortmund (£37.5m)
Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid (£35.5m)
Lewis Hall to Newcastle (£28m)
Romelu Lukaku to Napoli (£25m)
Omari Hutchinson to Ipswich (£20m)
Angelo Gabriel to Al-Nassr (£19.5m)
Diego Moreira to Strasbourg (£1.5m)
Raheem Sterling to Arsenal (Loan)
Lesley Ugochuku to Southampton (Loan)
Armando Broja to Everton (Loan)
Djordje Petrovic to Strasbourg (Loan)
Trevoh Chalobah to Crystal Palace (Loan)
Kepa Arrizabalaga to Bournemouth (Loan)
Alfie Gilchrist to Sheffield Utd (Loan)
Caleb Wiley to Strasbourg (Loan)
Andrey Santos to Strasbourg (Loan)
Bashir Humphreys to Burnley (Loan)
Gabriel Slonina to Barnsley (Loan)
Aaron Anselmino to Boca Juniors (Loan)
Mike Penders to Genk (Loan)
Eddie Beach to Crawley Town (Loan)
Teddy Sharman-Lowe to Doncaster Rovers (Loan)
Ted Curd to Hampton & Richmond Borough (Loan)
Dylan Williams to Burton Albion (Loan)
Luke Campbell to Hendon (Loan)
Leo Castledine to Shrewsbury Town (Loan)
Ronnie Stutter to Burton Albion (Loan)
Hakim Ziyech to Galatasaray (Free)
Malang Sarr to Lens (Free)
Thiago Silva to Fluminense (Free)
Tino Anjorin to Empoli (Free)
Dion Rankine to Wigan (Free)
Charlie Webster to Burton Albion (Free)
Jamie Cumming to Oxford United (Free)
Michael Golding to Leicester (Free)
Mason Barstow to Hull (Free)
Chinonso Chibueze to Stoke (Free)
Saheed Olagunju to Wolves (Free)
Billy Gee to Norwich (Free)
Josh Brooking to Dorking Wanderers (Free)
