Chelsea have faced a transfer crisis as a £20m loan deal fell through

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Chelsea have faced a transfer crisis as a £20m loan deal fell through

Chelsea’s deal to send David Datro Fofana on loan to AEK Athens has come under fire at the Greek transfer deadline.

The Blues appeared confident in sending the young striker to AEK on an initial loan deal that included an option to buy for £20m.

But problems with the deal erupted on Wednesday evening before the close of the transfer window for Greek players and were successful before those problems were resolved. Reports say AEK have gone back on their original deal with Chelsea.

AEK have been busy in the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of former Tottenham Hotspur winger Erik Lamela, Brentford goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha and former Watford midfielder Roberto Pereyra. They have also been heavily linked with free agent Anthony Martial after his Manchester United contract expired.

The £20m buyout clause in their first Fofana deal was worth almost four times their current transfer record, the £5.5m spent on midfielder Orbelin Pineda in 2023.

Chelsea are still looking to move Fofana in the 2024/25 season, with the transfer window for the Turkish player still open until Friday. He is not in coach Enzo Maresca’s plans for this campaign.

Fofana spent the 2023/24 season on loan twice. He first joined Union Berlin, who qualified for the UEFA Champions League, but scored only two goals in 27 games.

A loan spell at Burnley followed, and he managed four goals in 15 appearances at Turf Moor, but was unable to save the Clarets from relegation to the Championship.