Chelsea only confirmed David Datro Fofana's arrival at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but already the transfer deal has been hit by controversy.
The striker has arrived in an £8million deal from Norwegian side Molde, having scored 24 goals since his arrival two years ago. He was in the stands for Chelsea's defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League on Thursday night.
And having finally been given clearance, he has now been confirmed as the Blues latest arrival, on a six year contract. But the deal could potentially be scuppered after his boyhood team wrote to FIFA in a bid to get his move to the Blues cancelled.
But Abidjan City have been left 'outraged' by his move to Stamford Bridge. He started his career with the Ivory Coast side before joining the Amadou Diallo Football Academy in 2019.
But a dispute has stemmed from a row between Abidjan City and Fofana's mother over whether she signed a consent form in 2016. They claim that his subsequent move to Molde in 2021 was unlawful and have written to FIFA to get his Chelsea deal cancelled.
"We, therefore, invite you to intervene with the Chelsea club so that the player’s transfer is suspended until the dispute between the Molde FK club and ourselves is settled," club president Marco Taddei wrote.
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Chelsea are said to have insisted that Fofana is fully registered with them and have declined to comment. For his part, the striker has revealed his excitement at joining the Premier League side.
"Hello dear fans, I’m here, I’ve arrived well and I’m very happy to sign for the club of my dreams. I’ll see you soon on the pitch, cheers!" Fofana said upon the confirmation of his arrival.
It is unknown when the 20-year-old will be ready to make his debut, with his last game for Molde coming at the end of November. Blues boss Graham Potter admitted he would need time to adapt, having had an extended time off.
Potter said: “It’s too early to say. He’s an exciting player so we’re open-minded about it. He’s been on a bit of a break so we’ll give him some time to train and assess him, then find out the best solution in terms of how to take the next step of his career.”
Chelsea are next in action on Sunday afternoon when they travel to City in the third-round of the FA Cup. Despite the attacking crisis that has engulfed the squad, with Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Armando Broja out injured, Fofana will not feature.
Christian Pulisic and Sterling were both struck by injury during the defeat to City on Thursday. And Potter admitted he was experiencing a difficult time when it came to selection.
"It is tough at the moment and certainly doesn’t make it any easier. I feel for the boys of course as it’s one of those times but we have to stick together," Potter said following the defeat to City.
"It was disappointing to lose the guys early on but the players that came onto the pitch gave everything and that’s all you can ask for. It’s too soon for an update. Raheem was with his first action of the game with a back-heel.
"Christian had some contact on his knee so fingers crossed it’s not too bad. Mason Mount also had a kick yesterday in training, he’ll hopefully be okay for the weekend. I’ve never experienced anything like it but we just have to carry on."
