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Chelsea’s newest signing defended in EMERGENCY press conference
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 18 Sept 2025 11:32 BST
- 4 min read
News
Chelsea’s signing of Emanuel Emegha from Strasbourg has caused no end of controversy in France, with an emergency press conference called to discuss the deal.
Emegha’s move to Stamford Bridge from BlueCo sister club Strasbourg was made official last week, with the Netherlands U21 international set to complete his move on a permanent basis next summer.
However, fans of the Ligue 1 club have been left furious with the decision of the side to announce the departure of their top scorer and captain so early in the season.
Current ETV
Emanuel Emegha
F (C)
Strasbourg
Emanuel Emegha
F (C)
Strasbourg
ETV Range
€23.6M - €28.8M
During last weekend’s 1-0 win over Le Havre – a match Emegha was absent from due to injury – ultras displayed banners in protest at the transfer agreement.
“Emegha is a pawn of BlueCo. After you change your shirt, give back your armband,” fans wrote.
Strasbourg president Marc Keller called an emergency press conference to discuss the issue on Thursday and ran the risk of angering the ultras further with a message critical of their behaviour.
Keller said: “Something happened that I couldn’t have imagined. I saw a minority of people attacking the institution, the project and our captain. It’s unacceptable. These are not our values. Attacking our captain is not done.
“Since 2012, we’ve have a different relationship with the ultras in the Kop. Everyone was playing their part. The fans supported us. We used to talk a lot, even in the third division. But that’s changed in the last two years – it’s sad.
“What happened on Sunday no longer respects our club’s rules and we don’t accept it.”
Emegha deal the best of both worlds
Keller argued that Strasbourg did everything they could to keep Emegha for a long as possible.
“We signed him two years ago thanks to BlueCo and many big clubs asked us about him this summer,” he said.
“Our priority was to keep our striker and our leader. We found the best balance with this agreement, which allows us to keep him and then let him go to Chelsea.”
He also defended the image of Emegha pictured wearing a Chelsea shirt.
“When you say nothing, you hide things. When you show them, you’re dishonest,” he lamented.
Emegha, 22, has three goals in four appearances for Strasbourg this season and boasts an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €26.2 million.
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