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Versatile defender Fankaty Dabo will be leaving Chelsea this summer upon expiry of his contract, and joining Coventry City instead. The move was confirmed by both parties today, with the 23-year-old agreeing a three-year contract with the Sky Blues, who ply their trade in the third division (“League One”) these days.
TRANSFER: Coventry City agree to sign Defender Fankaty Dabo! ✍️
— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) June 5, 2019
More ➡️ https://t.co/SN4kb2xlu9 #PUSB pic.twitter.com/qvSr6BVuBa
Dabo had spent the previous season on loan in the Dutch second tier, at Sparta Rotterdam, finishing second in the Eerste Divisie and earning promotion to the Eredivisie through the playoffs. Previously, Dabo had loans at Vitesse and Swindon Town as well.
Born in London, Dabo joined Chelsea as a pre-teen but leaves without a single senior appearance. At Coventry, he will be reunited with former Chelsea Academy head coach Adi Viveash, who’s served as assistant manager to Mark Robins for the last two seasons. (Coventry also signed Charlie Wakefield in January and had Dujon Sterling on loan this season.)
“We’re delighted to welcome Fankie to the Club. He is a defender with a lot of the qualities which we need in the team as we push on next season, and will be a great addition to the squad. He is still only 23 but has experience both in this country and abroad, including in the Europa League, and we look forward to working with him and developing his game even further.”
-Mark Robins; source: Coventry City FC
Good luck, Fankaty!
And, a little curiously, Dabo managed to feature in at least one academy match in eight of the last nine seasons, scoring on his #CFCU18 debut as an U15 in 2010-11, and playing in the first two #CFCDev matches this year.
— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) June 5, 2019