David Datro Fofana
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Datro Fofana[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 22 December 2002[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Ouragahio, Ivory Coast | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Strasbourg (on loan from Chelsea) | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2018–2019 | Abidjan City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2021 | Abidjan City | ||
| 2019–2020 | → AFAD (loan) | ||
| 2021–2022 | Molde | 42 | (15) |
| 2023– | Chelsea | 3 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Union Berlin (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2024 | → Burnley (loan) | 15 | (4) |
| 2024–2025 | → Göztepe (loan) | 9 | (2) |
| 2025–2026 | → Fatih Karagümrük (loan) | 13 | (6) |
| 2026– | → Strasbourg (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2023 | Ivory Coast U23 | 3 | (1) |
| 2019–2022 | Ivory Coast | 3 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:45, 15 March 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:10, 28 September 2025 (UTC) | |||
David Datro Fofana (born 22 December 2002) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for French Ligue 1 club Strasbourg on loan from Premier League club Chelsea.
Club career
Early career
Fofana began his career in the Ivory Coast with Abidjan City, before joining AFAD on loan in 2019.[3] He was heavily scouted by French, Belgian and Norwegian clubs.[4] On 2 February 2021, Fofana signed a professional contract with Norwegian club Molde on a free transfer, signing for four years.[5] He debuted with Molde in a 3–3 UEFA Europa League tie with Hoffenheim on 18 February 2021, scoring his side's third goal in the 74th minute.[6]
Chelsea
On 28 December 2022, it was announced that Fofana would join English Premier League side Chelsea on 1 January 2023.[7] On 8 January 2023, Fofana came off the bench to make his Chelsea debut in a 4–0 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup.[8]
Loan to Union Berlin
On 11 July 2023, Chelsea announced that Fofana would join Bundesliga side Union Berlin on a season-long loan.[9] He was recalled by Chelsea on 11 January 2024.[10]
Loan to Burnley
Two days after returning to Chelsea, Fofana was loaned to fellow Premier League club Burnley until the end of the season.[11][12] On 3 February 2024, he scored his first goals for Burnley by netting a brace in a 2–2 draw against Fulham.[13] On 21 May 2024, Burnley confirmed the player was returning to Chelsea.[14]
Loan to Göztepe
On 13 September 2024, Fofana was loaned to newly-promoted Turkish club Göztepe until the end of the 2024–25 season.[15][16] On 3 February 2025, Chelsea recalled Fofana back from his loan due to an injury keeping him out for the remainder of the season.[17]
Loan to Fatih Karagümrük
On 13 September 2025, Fofana was loaned to another newly-promoted Süper Lig club Fatih Karagümrük until the end of the 2025–26 season.[18]
Loan to Strasbourg
On 2 February 2026, Fofana signed for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg on loan for the remainder of the season.[19]
International career
Fofana made his international debut with the Ivory Coast national team in a 2–0 CHAN 2020 loss to Niger on 22 September 2019.[20] On 22 March 2023, Fofana was the captain of the Ivory Coast's U23 national team in a friendly game against Morocco U23, which Ivory Coast won 3–2.[21]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 15 March 2026[1]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Molde | 2021 | Eliteserien | 18 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 5[b] | 1 | 26 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Eliteserien | 24 | 15 | 5 | 3 | — | 10[c] | 4 | 39 | 22 | ||
| Total | 42 | 15 | 8 | 4 | — | 15 | 5 | 65 | 24 | |||
| Chelsea | 2022–23 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Union Berlin (loan) | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 1 | 17 | 2 | |
| Burnley (loan) | 2023–24 | Premier League | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | 15 | 4 | |||
| Göztepe (loan) | 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 2 | ||
| Fatih Karagümrük (loan) | 2025–26 | Süper Lig | 13 | 6 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 15 | 8 | ||
| Strasbourg (loan) | 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[e] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Career total | 97 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | 131 | 40 | ||
- ^ Includes Norwegian Cup, FA Cup, DFB-Pokal, Turkish Cup, Coupe de France
- ^ Three appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearance in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 19 November 2022[22]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2019 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 3 | 0 | |
Honours
Molde
Individual
- Eliteserien Young Player of the Month: July 2022[23]
- Turkish Football Federation Fair Play Behavior Award of the Month October 2025[24]
References
- ^ a b c David Datro Fofana at Soccerway
- ^ "David Datro Fofana: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Sang, Kiplagat (22 December 2022). "Datro Fofana: Six quick facts about Chelsea's Ivory Coast wonderkid". goal.com. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ Ould-Saada, Arilas Berg (11 February 2021). "Fransk klubb bød 10 mill. for afrikansk stjerneskudd - Molde fikk ham «gratis»". VG (in Norwegian).
- ^ "David Fofana er nå klar for Molde FK". Molde. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Molde vs. Hoffenheim - 18 February 2021". Soccerway.
- ^ "David Datro Fofana agreement". Chelsea F.C. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ Aarons, Ed (13 January 2023). "David Datro Fofana: Chelsea player's first club claim Molde 'stole' him". The Guardian.
- ^ "David Fofana leaves Chelsea on loan". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "David Fofana recalled from Union Berlin loan". www.chelseafc.com. 11 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Fofana joins Burnley on loan". Chelsea FC. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Fofana checks in at Turf Moor". Burnley FC. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Burnley 2–2 Fulham". BBC Sport. 3 February 2024.
- ^ "CLUB CONFIRM RETAINED LIST | BurnleyFC". www.burnleyfootballclub.com. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ "David Fofana completes loan move". 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "David Datro Fofana Göztepe'mizde" (in Turkish). Göztepe. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "David Fofana returns to Chelsea". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ "David Datro Fofana completes loan switch to Turkey". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
- ^ "David Fofana completes loan move". Chelsea FC. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "CHAN 2020 : le Niger barre la route à la Côte d'Ivoire". CAFOnline.com.
- ^ "@DatroDavid". Twitter. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "David Datro Fofana". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ "Er det en heldig vinner?". Facebook (in Norwegian). Eliteserien. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
- ^ "TFF Fair Play ödülü Fofana'nın oldu!". 6 December 2025.
External links
- Profile at the Chelsea F.C. website
- David Datro Fofana at Soccerway
- Molde FK profile
- David Datro Fofana at National-Football-Teams.com
- David Datro Fofana – UEFA competition record (archive)