Chelsea send FOUR stars to Strasbourg as Maresca initiates squad overhaul

Cameron Smith

11 Jul 2025 06:45 BST
4 min read

Chelsea are on the verge of sending four youngsters to sister club Strasbourg as Enzo Maresca initiates a major squad overhaul at Stamford Bridge.

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The west London giants have effectively utilised their relationship with Strasbourg over the past two years and they are once again set to send several players to the Ligue 1 side, who are also owned by the BlueCo consortium.

Current ETV

Kendry Páez

M (C)

Chelsea

Kendry Páez

M (C)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€10.5M - €12.8M

Last season, Chelsea sent Djordje Petrovic, Andrey Santos and Caleb Wiley on loan to Strasbourg, with the former two performing excellently, and Diego Moreira was sold on a permanent deal for €8.5 million.

This year, Kendry Paez and Mike Penders are both on the verge of completing loan moves to Liam Rosenior’s side, while Strasbourg will sign Mathis Amougou and Ishe Samuels-Smith permanently.

Chelsea are only allowed to send three players on loan to Strasbourg every season, per FIFA rules, and they have therefore opted to sell both Amougou and Samuels-Smith to their sister club, according to L’Equipe.

The former, who only joined Chelsea from Saint-Etienne in January, was expected to complete a season-long loan move to Strasbourg, however a full agreement over a five-year contract has been reached, and he will be tasked with replacing the aforementioned Santos in Rosenior’s system.

Samuels-Smith, on the other hand, has been spotted at Strasbourg’s training ground ahead of a surprise permanent move to France. The 19-year-old is yet to make his senior Chelsea debut, but he is regarded as one of England’s brightest defensive prospects and he will provide cover at left-back and centre-back.

© IMAGO - Kendry Paez is close to joining Strasbourg on loan

Who else could Chelsea send to Strasbourg?

Paez, Penders, Amougou and Samuels-Smith will all be confirmed as new Strasbourg players before the start of the 2025-26 campaign, and they could be joined by at least one more Chelsea star.

Due to Amougou and Samuels-Smith being sold permanently, Chelsea still have one loan spot left.

Mamadou Sarr, who joined Chelsea from Strasbourg in June, is potentially the most likely candidate to fill this spot, due to immense competition for places at Stamford Bridge and his need for regular football.

However, if Guela Doue is sold to AC Milan, amid significant interest from the Serie A giants, then Josh Acheampong could become a prime contender to join Strasbourg on loan instead. Tyrique George is also an option, with Chelsea open to a loan exit following the signing of Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens.

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