“Not ready”- Former English boss calls for patience regarding Chelsea January recruit

Glenn Hoddle believes young Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana is not ready

Speaking to PL Productions (h/t Metro), former England manager Glenn Hoddle believes that young Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana is not ready yet to solve the scoring issues of the team.

Fofana, who arrived from Norwegian side Molde early in the January window, came on late against Fulham and had a chance to win the game, but was denied by some excellent defending from Tim Ream.

Chelsea have had issues putting the ball in the back of the net. They have scored a paltry 22 goals in 21 league games so far. Erling Haaland has three more league goals than the whole team.

When asked whether Fofana could be the solution right now, here’s Hoddle (h/t Metro):

“No, he’s not the answer.

“He’s not ready now. Even if he had an absolute blinder and scored two goals he wouldn’t be the answer yet, you’ve got to have a lot of longevity as a youngster to come in at that level at Chelsea.

“He can do a job, he’d be a good substitution maybe.”

After loaning Romelu Lukaku out to Inter Milan in the summer, Chelsea signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the deadline day to cover up for the loss of a centre-forward.

But, the former Arsenal and Barcelona marksman hasn’t delivered this season. He only managed to score three goals in 17 appearances in all competitions.

Signing the 20-year-old Fofana, who, granted had a good record in Norway, isn’t really a proven goal-scorer at the elite level. So, Hoddle is right that the Ivorian cannot be the answer to the team’s struggles in front of the goal.

Moreover, with Aubameyang left out of the Champions League squad, it might be tough for Graham Potter to motivate him for the league games. Although the Gabonese star hasn’t done much this season to warrant a starting place in the team anyway.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea told to sign Fulham star Aleksandr Mitrovic to solve striker issues
• Chelsea express interest in Manchester United target and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen
• La Liga’s top executive has expressed doubt about Chelsea and the Premier League regarding spending prowess

So what have Chelsea got? A bunch of forward players who like to operate in and around the final third but are not genuine goal-scorers. With that in mind, the manager needs to make sure the goals are divided among four to five players for the remainder of this season.