Chelsea set up chance to double their money as Fofana heads to AEK

Robin Bairner

• 11 Sept 2024 13:15 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea are seeking to complete a double deal that could net them as much as much as €43.5 million in the aftermath of the summer transfer window.

The Blues are trying to take advantage of the windows still being open in countries such as Greece and Turkey to offload excess members of their squad, with David Datro Fofana set to be the next player to depart.

A loan deal has been set up whereby he could leave for AEK on loan, with the Athens club holding a purchase option of €20 million for the striker.

READ MORE: Todd Boehly vs Behdad Eghbali: Chelsea's civil war explained

Football transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the deal is all but certain to go through.

“David Datro Fofana leaves Chelsea to join AEK Athens on loan deal, agreement reached,” Romano tweeted.

“It also includes a buy option clause for €23.5 million (£20m) not mandatory, up to AEK in June 2025 to decide about it.

“Fofana has accepted, paperwork time now.”

TeamTalk, meanwhile, reports that Carney Chukwuemeka is wanted by Galatasaray, who are willing to pay up to €20m for the 20-year-old central midfielder.

READ MORE: Osimhen to Galatasaray and the 11 strangest transfers of the summer

Chelsea to double up?

Chelsea have often been accused in the past of failing to get value for money in their sales, yet if these deals were to go ahead, it would land them more than twice as much as the current Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of the players.

Chukwuemeka, who has had his game time limited to just 255 minutes since making a €18m move from Aston Villa a little over a year ago, has an ETV that stands at only €4m.

Fofana, who arrived from Molde in January 2023 for €12m, has seen his value grow to €18m off the back of loan spells at Union Berlin and Burnley, yet there appears to be little space for the 21-year-old at Stamford Bridge.

Compared

David Datro Fofana

F (C)

Chelsea

David Datro Fofana

F (C)

Chelsea

VS

Carney Chukwuemeka

M (C)

Chelsea

Carney Chukwuemeka

M (C)

Chelsea

€18M	ETV	€4M
€13.5M - €22.5M	ETV Range	€3M - €5.1M
21 years old (22 Dec, 2002)	Age	21 years old (20 Oct, 2003)
Cote d'Ivoire	Nationality	England

If AEK were to buy out his loan contract, meanwhile, it would obliterate their current transfer record, which stands at €6.5m, which they paid Celta Vigo for Orbelin Pineda last summer.

As such, the likelihood of Fofana staying in Greece beyond his loan deal is slim.