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News
- 2 hours ago
'Strasbourg are NOT Chelsea's feeder club', says president
Cameron Smith
- 27 Nov 2025 15:19 GMT
- 5 min read
News
Strasbourg president Marc Keller has insisted that his side aren’t a feeder club to Chelsea, despite the fact they are both owned by BlueCo.
The Ligue 1 outfit, who are currently fifth in the French top flight table, were purchased by Chelsea owners BlueCo and Clearlake Capital in 2023, and they have followed a similar transfer strategy to their sister club over the past two years.
Current ETV
Emmanuel Emegha
F (C)
Strasbourg
Emmanuel Emegha
F (C)
Strasbourg
ETV Range
€23.6M - €28.8M
Strasbourg have prioritised signing talented youngsters since the arrival of their new owners and they have, rather unsurprisingly, frequently signed Chelsea wonderkids on loan deals as part of their multi-club agreement.
Andrey Santos, Djordje Petrovic and Mike Penders are among the stars to have been sent on loan to Strasbourg by the Chelsea hierarchy in recent seasons, although Strasbourg fans have continuously protested against the BlueCo regime since their arrival.
Supporters of the French club believe their club is being used as a feeder club for Chelsea and despite qualifying for European football for the first time in six years last season, they are desperate for BlueCo to depart.
News that star striker Emanuel Emegha will join Chelsea on a permanent deal next summer angered fans greatly, as did the decision to sign Blues youngster Ishe Samuels-Smith in late July before sending him back to Stamford Bridge just one month later.
However, Keller has repeatedly backed BlueCo’s involvement at Strasbourg and has once again defended their multi-club ownership.
Marc Keller on Chelsea-Strasbourg links
“I know a minority of people are still asking some questions about the multi-club model,” Keller admitted to BBC Sport. “Of course, we continue dialogue, and I think that the best answer, as I used to be a footballer, is on the pitch.
“I don't think we are a feeder club, because a feeder club we are sending three, four, five, six players to Chelsea every season.
“I think it's more... like a younger brother relationship, as we say in France, but you say sister club in England. We help each other.”
He added: “Discussions with Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly have been about how to create a smart multi-club model from the beginning, while using more financial power.
“We improved every year and were in a strong financial position before the takeover, but with new partners we can dream a little bigger and think about getting into the top six or seven to qualify for Europe every year.
“We try to work well with the technical team of Chelsea to have good players for Strasbourg,” Keller continued. “It would have been impossible for us to have Mike Penders, Andrey Santos or Djorde Petrovic in the past, so that's positive.
“Strasbourg and France is a good step for the young players to develop, and this BlueCo project is about building quality.
“We are investing a lot in a young generation. It can happen that one player per year is good enough for Chelsea. But our project is to have other players around top clubs in Europe, not just Chelsea.
“It's not correct to say they are coming to go to Chelsea. They are coming to Strasbourg because of the ambition.”
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