David Datro Fofana: Another Ivorian wonder kid to lead the Chelsea attack for years?

Well, Molde have come into focus in recent seasons having given Erling Haaland his top-flight debut in 2017, and it seems the Norwegian outfit have been giving their scouting and training of young forwards due diligence ever since. David Datro Fofana is the next off the Molde production line, and Chelsea are reportedly ready to part ways with more than €10 million to secure his signature in the coming winter transfer window.

Following confirmation of Armando Broja's ACL injury will rule him out for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign, reports of the club's pursuit of a new striker have naturally grown.

To the shock of many on Thursday morning, Fabrizio Romano broke the story that Chelsea are close to securing the signature of 19-year-old Molde striker Datro David Fofana. A deal is in place with the Norweigan club that produced Erling Haaland and personal terms are now being discussed with the Ivorian.

Player Profile

Name: David Datro Fofana.

Position: Striker/ Wide Right Forward.

Age: 19.

Preferred Foot: Right.

Current Club: Molde FK.

Fofana is a quick, direct and powerful attacking player. He is listed at 181cm | 6' and is predominantly right-footed, but it is his combination of timing and explosive attacking movement that really make him difficult to defend against.

He was initially a product of the youth academy at Abidjan City in his native Ivory Coast but in 2021, he made the move across to Norway where he joined Molde. Injuries had previously held him back slightly but now he is enjoying a breakout season in the Norwegian top-flight. Fofana is quick, aggressive and dynamic, he is unpredictable in terms of his movements and can attack and change direction very quickly. When his side is in the transition from defence to attack, he is an extremely effective attacking player.

David Datro Fofana's style of play

Currently, David Datro Fofana fits perfectly into Molde's 5-3-2 formation. Like his Molde predecessor Haaland, in simple terms, Fofana is a big bully on the ball, pawing off every attempt to bring him down and continuing on his path to goal. However, unlike the Man City forward, Datro is also a fantastic dribbler. Easing his way in and out of tight areas, the bullish Ivorian uses his pace and agile body to advance the ball. A personal favourite of his seems to be megging the Eliteserien defenders and leaving them embarrassed and as the butt of all jokes for weeks to come.

Long balls have been a tactic often employed by Molde and Datro's divine ball control enables him to bring the ball down and progress the ball. Surprisingly, however, given his qualities on the ball, the Ivorian isn't adept at holding up play. Sometimes too selfish and many times lackluster in ground duels, the striker struggles at anchoring the play and is the most potent closest to goal.

Playing in a two-man strike partnership, as the ball progresses forward Datro's clever off the ball movements in the box always seem to help him wrong-foot the defender and smash in goals. The striker is predominantly confined to the box, functioning as a target man and an ever-present danger to goal. On the occasion, he does drift outside, his explosive runs into the wide channels help Molde retain possession and disfigure the opposition's formation.

Passing & Movement:

Molde's fox in the box, Fofana's positioning throughout the season in possession has resembled a big red dot. While he is still quite far away from catching up with the greats of Europe, comparing his heatmap to other top goal-scoring strikers in the top 5 leagues paints us a better picture of his movements and positioning.

After comparing his heatmap to Europe's top goal-scoring strikers, it is evident that the Ivorian's movements and positioning inside the box are similar to many elite goal scorers and with better finishing he'll surely be an influential asset in the future.

Given that the Ivorian hardly gets involved in the build-up play and spends most of his time in the box, his numbers in possession are nothing impressive and aren't meant to be either. This season in the league he has averaged 32.9 touches and 12 accurate passes p90. Interestingly, the Ivorian's statistics are similar to the likes of Oliver Giroud & Halaand who have averaged 9.6 & 10.3 accurate passes p90 respectively. These numbers further propagate that Fofana is on the right track to becoming a lethal fox in the box.

Despite, his minimal involvement in play, the number nine has still managed to create 6 big chances in the Eliteserien. While that isn't a great number of chances created in 17 league games, for a goal scoring striker constricted to the penalty box it is a decent number which can easily be harvested into more.

In Attack:

To become a great striker, you need to provide goals consistently and till now David Datro Fofana has supplied them…almost consistently. The Ivorian who dreams of being called to the national side for the next AFCON has been sensational this season making his way into multiple top 10 attacking charts in the Norwegian league. His movement off the ball in space has helped him create space and take an impressive 4.45 shots p90, nearly 1.0 shots p90 more than the great Haaland himself.

Unfortunately, his finishing has let him down. In the Eliteserien, the striker has underperformed his xG by a massive 2.85 goals. Despite his constant threat to goal and racking up most shots on goal (28), more than the leading goal scorer of Eliteserien, he hasn't managed to convert his chances into goals. However, context is important.

At a tender age of 19, the youngster still has a lot of time and can develop into a much better finisher than he currently is.

Conclusion

Speed, acceleration, dribbling, goals, and stamina, in David Datro Fofana are all the qualities required to become a prolific striker. The Ivorian's finishing has been a concern but as he develops his numbers are bound to improve. His ability to adapt & hunger to win define how he plays the game. With the correct guidance and proper use of his capabilities, a beast could be unleashed.

His strengths greatly outweigh his cons and he would prove to be an investment if employed by the right team. In Datro Fofana is an opportunity, an opportunity to revive the dying traditional striker. If everything goes according to plan, Chelsea fans are up for an exciting next few years with the Ivorian upfront.