Chelsea have recalled David Datro Fofana from his loan at Union Berlin in order to clear a foreign loan slot for Ian Maatsen to head to Borussia Dortmund.

There had been a lot of speculation about whether Maatsen would qualify as an exception, but this seems to prove that he doesn’t. He will now be able to join Dortmund, with Fofana’s future now up in the air.

His time at Berlin looked to be over after falling out with the last coach, and the team has struggled in the Bundesliga all season. He will have to go on loan domestically – unless of course Chelsea plan to use him in their squad.

One of the stranger signings from last January, one who never looked like he had a clear path to Chelsea’s first team, already looks like a lost victim of our loan policy and a potential big loss coming to our books in a few years.

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