Derby County and Leicester City set for transfer disappointment involving Chelsea | OneFootball

David Datro Fofana's Chelsea future is set to become clearer after Leicester City, Celtic, and Derby County interest in the striker.

Derby County and Leicester City have held January transfer interest in Chelsea's David Datro Fofana, but a decision looks to be imminent regarding the striker - and it doesn't involve the two Championship clubs.

It became a possibility that a player with experience of English football could be available this month in David Datro Fofana of Chelsea, with the striker having featured for Burnley in the Premier League back in 2023/24.

Interest has mounted throughout the window in the 23-year-old, with the likes of Derby County and Celtic being keen on the Ivorian.

However, Leicester City recently joined the Fofana race, who spent the first half of the season at Turkish Super Lig side Fatih Karagumruk S.K, scoring six goals in 13 top flight outings in his short stint.

David Datro Fofana unlikely to jon Derby County or Leicester ahead of transfer deadline

Fofana was snapped up by Chelsea in 2022 after an extremely impressive campaign with Norwegian giants Molde FK. The Blues are now keen on a permanent solution for a player who has spent four years on various loans.

The last 24 hours has seen interest ramp up considerably, with Rudy Galetti revealing Qatari side Al Sadd attempted a loan bid. L'Equipe also revealed interest from French outfit Auxerre.

Pete O'Rourke's update though has seemingly ruled Fofana out of a move to the Championship, with Leicester and Derby looking like missing out on the centre-forward ahead of tomorrow's transfer deadline - that is due to top flight interest across the continent.

Per his update, Fofana is being lined up by Real Mallorca or RC Strasbourg ahead of tomorrow. The latter have traded with Chelsea regularly over the last few seasons due to also being owned by BlueCo, and he could feasibly head to Gary O'Neil's side - but Real Mallorca of La Liga are also in the mix.

David Datro Fofana has incredible potential, but it won't be showed at Derby County or Leicester City

Fofana's goalscoring record has not been all that impressive in his 20's, but his teen years saw him bag for fun. That, on top of an excellent physical profile, is why he is considered by top flight clubs as well as the likes of Leicester and Derby.

It's an opportunity missed in many ways, with Fofana only a recently turned 23 years of age - it means he would also be among the youngest strikers at each club that were interested in his services.

Every club needs more assets that they can develop, and Fofana could have been that. That said, Derby have Patrick Agyemang, with the American likely to fire them up via the play-offs or end up sold in the summer for a hefty profit, but Leicester are definitely short in that area, and they will be gutted to miss out on the Ivory Coast man.