Chelsea reject Real Betis’ opening offer for 21-year-old attacker

Following the departures of Willian Jose and Borja Iglesias, Real Betis are now in desperate need of a new striker. Currently, they have Chimy Avila, Juanmi and Cedric Bakambu as options, although the latter will miss the start of the new season because of an injury.

A low-cost operation is being targeted by Betis sporting director Manu Fajardo, and according to ABC (via MD), they recently approached Chelsea over a loan deal for David Datro Fofana, who does not feature in their plans for the 2024-25 campaign.

Despite this, Chelsea turned down Betis’ move, stating that they have little intention of sorting a loan deal for the 21-year-old Ivorian attacker. It’s more likely that a permanent operation would be successful, although Los Verdiblancos would not have the funds required to meet the asking price.

Betis’ bitter rivals Sevilla tried to sign Datro Fofana in January, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts too. It looks like being a similar situation this time around, but with the other side of the Gran Derbi rivalry.