Derby County, Leicester City and Celtic to miss out on Chelsea transfer | OneFootball

A decision has been made as to where David Datro Fofana will play his football after significant Championship interest in the Chelsea striker.

Following significant interest from Championship sides Derby County and Leicester City, as well as a link to Scottish Premiership outfit Celtic, a decision has been made on David Datro Fofana's next club.

The Chelsea forward had been on the radar of the Rams earlier this month, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that John Eustace's side were interested in a loan move for the 23-year-old.

Similarly, Leicester had been keeping a keen eye on the former Burnley loanee, as former manager Marti Cifuentes looked to bring in more firepower up front, with Celtic also monitoring the Ivorian.

Nevertheless, after it originally looked on Sunday as though Fofana could be heading to Qatar, Rudy Galetti reported that Chelsea had knocked back Al Saad's offer for the striker, with French club Auxerre also one of those involved in the battle. Now, a decision has been made on the player's future.

David Datro Fofana's next club confirmed as Derby County and Leicester City lose transfer battle

With the Blues looking to sell the forward permanently for £10m, as per The Daily Mail, both Derby and Leicester looked to have been pushed out of the race early on.

Now, with the 7pm deadline closing in, The Telegraph's Mike McGrath has revealed that Chelsea are set to send Fofana out on loan, with Liam Rosenior's former club Strasbourg winning the race for the 23-year-old.

This will be the fifth loan deal of his Stamford Bridge career, and it may not come as a surprise to see the French club win the race with the club part of the BlueCo group, led by Todd Boehly.

Fofana, who scored six goals in 13 league games for Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk in the first-half of the season, will hope that a strong showing for Strasbourg will win him favour with Rosenior ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

Derby County will not be too worried about missing out on David Datro Fofana

It's been a January filled with story for Derby, and on the pitch, there has been an incredible amount of hope brought to the East Midlands, with a 5-0 victory over Bristol City on Friday proof of their play-off credentials.

While Fofana would have added a new edge to the forward line at Pride Park, a £10m fee would not have been financially savvy for a side who have put their colossal spending days behind them, and arguably, he may not have been an improvement on what they already have.

Carlton Morris is set to return to training in the coming days, while Patrick Agyemang is in spectacular form, having scored nine Championship goals this season.

Fofana was not a necessary signing for Derby, and with Strasbourg winning the race for the striker, questions have to be asked as to whether there was ever going to be another destination for the Ivorian.