Chelsea seal first January signing after confirming pre-agreement for €12m transfer

Chelsea have confirmed they have agreed to sign David Datro Fofana from Molde next month.

The 20-year-old will be Chelsea‘s first signing of the January transfer window and he will complete his switch to Stamford Bridge on January 1. Fofana will join for a reported €12 million.

A club statement read: “Chelsea FC has reached a pre-agreement with Molde FK for the transfer of David Datro Fofana.

“The 20-year-old striker will join the Blues on 1 January 2023. We look forward to welcoming David to the club!”

Fofana will pen a long-term contract at Chelsea. It remains unclear whether he is going to be part of the first-team setup immediately or if he will depart on loan for the remainder of the season.

His arrival follows the season-ending injury to Armando Broja who sustained a rupture to his anterior cruciate ligament earlier this month.

Fofana could be followed to Chelsea in January by Vasco da Gama’s Andrey Santos, with the Blues in talks to complete a €23 million deal for the Brazilian wonderkid.

Chelsea are also in talks to sign Benoit Badiashile from AS Monaco, while a blockbuster bid could go in for Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez after Graham Potter’s side signalled their intent to the Portuguese side to trigger his £105 million release clause.

Potter’s side may have to bring in a new right-back to cover for Reece James too in the winter market. The 23-year-old was confirmed to be ruled out for up to a month after he suffered a knee injury setback against AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday evening.