Boehly's multi-club madness: First Chelsea player to get OFFLOADED revealed

Tom Weber

• 23 Jun 2023 12:20 BST
• 3 min read

David Datro Fofana could be the first Chelsea player heading to new sister club Strasbourg.

Todd Boehly and his Clearlake Capital partners have completed the takeover of Ligue 1 side RC Strasbourg in a deal worth €76 million. This has outraged fans of the French club, but it could yet prove to be a beneficial business decision.

Unsurprisingly, several Strasbourg talents have been earmarked as potential future Chelsea players, but little has been made of the possibility of players heading the other way. This could soon change, however, seeing as though there are several realistic candidates on Chelsea's bloated roster.

Indeed, L'Equipe has already reported that David Datro Fofana could potentially head on loan to Strasbourg, and this has now been confirmed by Fabrizio Romano.

Boelhy faces huge FAN REVOLT over £65m purchase

Development club or dumping ground?

What will ease Strasbourg fans' fears a little bit at least will be the fact that it is unlikely that Chelsea will use last season's 15th-placed side as a dumping ground for unwanted, expensive stars; after all, they already have Saudi Arabia for that.

Instead, Strasbourg could be used as a development club, like Vitesse once was. The news that Datro Fofana could head on loan there reinforces this.

Despite struggling for game time since his €12m switch from Molde, 20-year-old Fofana remains a high-potential player who could thrive in a league like Ligue 1. Therefore, this could also prove beneficial to Strasbourg, albeit only in the short term.

READ: French connection: Three GEMS Chelsea could poach from Strasbourg

The likes of Andrey Santos and Bashir Humphreys are also potential candidates who could benefit from a loan to Ligue 1. The latter impressed on loan at SC Paderborn in the 2. Bundesliga last term, so the French top flight would be the logical next step in his development.

In saying that, however, Strasbourg will be wary of cosying up to Chelsea too much in light of the fan protests and the comments made by president Marc Keller who has insisted that the two clubs are separate entities.