Chelsea may have found next Erling Haaland as ‘deal agreed’

Chelsea's next six Premier League fixtures

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Chelsea are on the verge of completing a deal to sign Molde striker David Datro, who has previously named Stamford Bridge hero Didier Drogba as his idol. However, his career path suggests he could be the next Erling Haaland. Either way, it’s a deal that carries plenty of promise…

Chelsea are set to secure Datro’s services after agreeing a fee in the region of £8.6million with Molde, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. With Armando Broja set for several months on the sidelines after suffering a ruptured ACL last weekend, Graham Potter could integrate the exciting 19-year-old into his squad immediately.

The January switch will be a dream come true for Datro, with the Ivory Coast international making no secret of his love for Chelsea and Drogba. He told TV2: “Chelsea have been my favourite club since I was little. Drogba played there, so they have always been my club. So it’s my dream.”

Molde manager Erling Moe was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s assistant before becoming interim boss when he left for Manchester United, having a teenage Haaland under his wing before his move to RB Salzburg. And while Datro is a different profile of player to the prolific Norwegian, he has admitted there are some similarities between the two.

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It is difficult to draw lines between two such players,” Moe explained. “They are two different people. [Datro] came to us very young, and he spent a lot of time getting to know himself, both with football and everything else. He shows more and more progress. It was a bit like that with Erling too. He spent time building his body and personality as [Datro] does now. Right there, I see some similarities.”

Molde have become a source for the next generation of strikers in recent years, and Moe has backed Datro to follow in Haaland’s footsteps and sign for a European heavyweight. He said: “We have seen that most things are possible when you play Molde. Erling has just signed for Manchester City, so why not?

“As long as he works hard in everyday life and wants to improve every day, that’s a pretty realistic goal, but he still has a lot to prove here in Molde as well. He needs to fight at a good level, and then we’ll see where it goes.”

Fofana netted 17 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions throughout the 2022 season, including five in his final four Eliteserien outings. And Potter will be confident he is adding one of Africa’s biggest talents to his squad as his rebuild begins in January.

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