David Datro Fofana will spend the 2025–26 season on loan at Fatih Karagümrük, the next step in a run of temporary moves since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

The two-cap Ivory Coast international has already been loaned to Union Berlin and Burnley during the 2023–24 season, before spending last term with Süper Lig side Göztepe. He scored twice for Göztepe, but a knee injury forced him to return to Stamford Bridge in January.

Chelsea have confirmed Fofana will return to Türkiye for the remainder of the campaign with Fatih Karagümrük. The forward becomes the club’s fourth short-term departure since joining Chelsea, and his trajectory underlines the difficulty the club has had in finding a permanent solution for the youngster.

Despite a long-term injury to Liam Delap that led Chelsea to recall Marc Guiu from his loan at Sunderland, the club elected not to retain Fofana in the senior squad. According to The Athletic, the forward has “no future” with the west London giants and would have been forced to train away from the rest of the senior squad had he failed to secure an exit.

Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi currently find themselves in that bleak predicament, with Enzo Maresca having made the stunning admission that he hasn’t seen either one of them since the beginning of the season.

Chelsea have also moved in the transfer market elsewhere, agreeing with sister club Strasbourg to sign 22-year-old striker Emanuel Emegha. The Netherlands Under-21 international is set to join the club next summer, a development that further shapes the club’s forward planning.

Fofana’s latest loan offers him a chance to regain fitness and minutes in a familiar league, while Chelsea continue to reshape their attacking options amid long-term absences and new signings.

Chelsea and Brentford finished level at 2-2 as a stoppage-time intervention denied the Blues a comeback win. Brentford’s five-at-the-back set-up, implemented by Keith Andrews, aimed to blunt Chelsea and exploit breakaways through Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago.

The Bees’ approach produced the opening goal in the 35th minute. A rapid counter saw Schade run onto a dangerous pass from Jordan Henderson and, when his effort deflected off the inside of Tosin Adarabioyo’s right leg, the ball ended up past Robert Sánchez.

Chelsea made three halftime changes, bringing on Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Tyrique George to try to restore parity. Tyrique George came close to scoring, only for Caoimhin Kelleher to produce a strong save. Cole Palmer was introduced in the 61st minute and would eventually get on the scoresheet; it was his first non-penalty goal since Jan. 14. Alejandro Garnacho was also introduced in the second half.

Moisés Caicedo turned the game in Chelsea’s favour with a goal in the 85th minute, and it briefly looked as though the Blues had taken the win. In stoppage time, however, Kristoffer Ajer flicked on a long Brentford throw-in and Fabio Carvalho tucked the ball in at the far post in the 94th minute to level the scores.

The match finished 2-2, Chelsea’s second draw in four to begin the season. Below are the Blues player ratings from the match.

Player Ratings (Out of 10)

• GK: Robert Sánchez — 7.2
• RB: Wesley Fofana — 6.6
• CB: Tosin Adarabioyo — 6.8
• CB: Trevoh Chalobah — 7.6
• LB: Jorrel Hato — 6.1
• CM: Moisés Caicedo — 8.2
• CM: Enzo Fernández (c) — 7.5
• RW: Pedro Neto — 7.0
• AM: Facundo Buonanotte — 6.7
• LW: Jamie Gittens — 6.4
• ST: João Pedro — 7.5
• SUB: Tyrique George (46’ for Buonanotte) — 6.2
• SUB: Reece James (46’ for Fofana) — 6.6
• SUB: Marc Cucurella (46’ for Hato) — 6.9
• SUB: Cole Palmer (56’ for Gittens) — 7.4
• SUB: Alejandro Garnacho (79’ for Pedro) — 6.4

Subs not used: Filip Jørgensen (GK), Josh Acheampong, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos.

Brentford (5-3-2): Caoimhin Kelleher; Michael Kayode, Sepp van den Berg, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock, Keane Lewis-Potter; Yehor Yarmoliuk, Jordan Henderson, Mathias Jensen; Igor Thiago, Kevin Schade.

Brentford subs: Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson (GK), Kristoffer Ajer, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Frank Onyeka, Vitaly Janelt, Dango Ouattara, Fabio Carvalho, Reiss Nelson.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi have not been part of first-team activity since the 2025–26 season began. Both players have been training separately from the squad after attempts to find transfers on Deadline Day failed to materialise.

Disasi was linked with Sunderland, Bournemouth and West Ham United, but no move came to pass as he hoped former club Monaco would make an offer. Sterling was linked with Juventus and Bayer Leverkusen in August, but he did not want to move away from his family’s London base.

“They are Chelsea players, but at the moment they are training separately and the plan is to continue in this way,” Maresca told reporters of the pair at his latest news conference.

“Since the season started, I haven’t seen either of them. I haven’t seen Axel or Raheem. They train at a different time and on a different pitch. I haven’t seen them since the start of the season.”

Sterling spent 2024–25 on loan at Arsenal but failed to fire. The 30-year-old played 28 times in all competitions, scoring just once in the Carabao Cup, and his 17 Premier League outings came mostly as a substitute behind Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.

Disasi spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa but did not do enough to convince Unai Emery to pursue a permanent deal. His first season at Chelsea, 2023–24, yielded 31 Premier League appearances, yet when Maresca replaced Mauricio Pochettino it became clear the manager did not see the French defender in his plans.

That stance has continued into the current campaign, with both players described as part of the club’s so-called “bomb squad.” Barring a dramatic change, it appears both will remain on the sidelines and effectively watching until at least January.