Franco Di Santo
From TheChels.info - The Chelsea Football Club Wiki
| Franco Di Santo | |
| |
| Full Name | Franco Matías Di Santo |
| Date of Birth | 8 January 1988 |
| Place of Birth | Mendoza, Argentina |
| Position | Striker |
| Chelsea career | 2008 - 2010 |
| Debut | 31 August 2008 |
| Games (goals) | 16 (0) |
| Other clubs | Audax Italiano Blackburn Rovers (loan) Wigan Athletic Werder Bremen |
Franco Matías Di Santo (born 7 April 1989) is an Argentinian striker who joined Chelsea in 2008 from Chilean side Audax Italiano. He made 16 appearances during the 2008-09 season. He spent the 2009-10 season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, and went on to make 24 appearances for the Lancashire side. In August 2010 he signed for Wigan Athletic on a three year deal for a reported fee of £2m.
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Before Chelsea
Franco started his football career with Argentinian side Godoy Cruz, but he left at the age of 16 to move to Chilean side Audax Italiano. As a teenager he quickly settled into the first team and contributed to the club's Copa Libertadores run in 2006/07.
After impressing in further continental cup competition, he impressed Chelsea and earned a move to England in early 2008.
Chelsea career
Di Santo hit the ground running in England, notching a debut goal late on in the Reserve team's 2-2 draw with Fulham. It signalled the start of a prolific run in Brendan Rodgers' second team, as he finished the season with seven goals from eight appearances, including a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur.
His good form earned a promotion to the first team squad ahead of the 2008-09 season, and after playing well on the club's pre-season tour of China and Malaysia, he was handed the coveted number 9 shirt. He made his senior debut for Chelsea against Tottenham in late August, and went on to make sixteen total appearances over the course of the campaign, largely as a substitute.
For the 2009-10 season he was loaned to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers. He played particularly well for the first half of the season, but lost his place in the side and struggled to make an impact in the second part of the year. He scored one goal in 24 appearances, but it was a goal that went down well with Rovers fans, as he found the back of the net in a derby match against bitter rivals Burnley.
After Chelsea
On 31 August 2010 Di Santo signed a three-year contract with Wigan Athletic, who paid a transfer fee of £2 million. He would spend three years at the club, and won an FA Cup-winners medal as an unused substitute in 2013, but was released at the end of the season after they were relegated from the Premier League. He subsequently moved to Germany, signing for Werder Bremen.
Statistics
- Reserve Team Football
| Season | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | |
| 2007-08 | 8 | 7 |
| 2008-09 | 5 | 2 |
- Chelsea First Team
| Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| 2008-09 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
- Loans while at Chelsea
| Season | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2009-10 | Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
