Which players have moved between Chelsea and Strasbourg?

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 3 Feb 2026 15:44 CST
• 6 min read

Analysis

Chelsea and Strasbourg are currently sister clubs, and several players have moved between the two sides over the past few years.

The French outfit have been used as a breeding ground for several Chelsea youngsters and their partnership has been hugely successful for both clubs.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through Chelsea’s partnership with Strasbourg and which players have moved between the two clubs since BlueCo’s arrival.

Who owns Chelsea and Strasbourg?

Chelsea and Strasbourg are both owned by the BlueCo consortium, which is led by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly.

BlueCo bought Chelsea from Roman Abramovich in 2022, while they purchased a majority stake in Strasbourg in 2023.

Which players have moved between Chelsea and Strasbourg?

Since BlueCo acquired control of Strasbourg in 2023, they have used the Ligue 1 side as a sister club for Chelsea.

Several stars have moved from Stamford Bridge to the Stade de la Meinau on loan, with Chelsea viewing their partnership as the perfect opportunity to give youngsters first-team experience in a top European league.

The first player to move from Chelsea to Strasbourg was Angelo Gabriel, who agreed a season-long loan deal in the summer of 2023, just one month after joining Chelsea from Santos. He provided four assists in 25 appearances for Strasbourg, before being sold to Al-Nassr for a profit in 2024.

Andrey Santos became the next Chelsea player to join Strasbourg on loan in January 2024. He arrived having endured a tough temporary spell at Nottingham Forest and after impressing in France, his loan move was extended by a further 12 months. He ended his time at Strasbourg with 12 goals and five assists in 45 games for the club.

Caleb Wiley and Djordje Petrovic both joined Strasbourg on loan during the 2024 summer transfer window, although they had contrasting success in France. The former struggled with injury issues and returned to Chelsea in January 2025, while the latter was voted as Strasbourg’s Player of the Season.

Diego Moreira also moved from Chelsea to Strasbourg in 2024, but his deal was a permanent one, with the Ligue 1 side paying an €8.5m fee to sign him.

The following year, in 2025, Mamadou Sarr became the first Strasbourg player to join Chelsea since BlueCo took control of the French outfit. He moved to Stamford Bridge for €14m after enjoying an impressive debut campaign at Strasbourg.

Sarr was loaned straight back to Strasbourg that summer, as was Ecuador youngster Kendry Paez, who finally arrived in Europe two years after being signed by Chelsea. The third available loan spot was occupied by Belgian goalkeeper Mike Penders.

Both Sarr and Paez were recalled by Chelsea in January 2026, though for contrasting reasons. The former was brought back because the Blues needed defensive reinforcements, while the latter was instead loaned to River Plate after struggling for minutes and facing criticism for his lifestyle away from the pitch.

Summer 2025 also saw three players move permanently to Strasbourg from Chelsea, although one, bizarrely, only lasted 33 days. That player was academy graduate Ishe Samuels-Smith.

Chelsea re-signed the left-back a month after he left because they also offloaded Ben Chilwell to Strasbourg on a free transfer and were worried that this would prevent him from getting game time. He was instead loaned to Swansea.

Mathis Amougou, who had only joined Chelsea for €15m in January of that year, was sold to Strasbourg for €14.5m after playing two games for the Stamford Bridge club.

Shortly after the window closed, Chelsea announced that Strasbourg striker Emmanuel Emegha would join the club permanently in summer 2026 for an undisclosed fee rumoured to be in the region of €25m. This sparked outrage among the Strasbourg fans as Emegha had just been named club captain.

The wheeling and dealing continued in January 2026, although the first move was not a player signing. Chelsea hired Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior to succeed Enzo Maresca, prompting more protests from the Ligue 1 outfit's supporters groups, who described it as "humiliating" in an official statement.

Strasbourg president Marc Keller, BlueCo's closest ally at the Alsatian club, later admitted that he tried to keep Rosenior and voiced his frustration about losing him mid-season. Chelsea sources described the compensation paid to Strasbourg for the coach as "market rate."

As for players, the recalled Sarr was replaced by Aaron Anselmino, who had impressed in limited minutes during a loan spell at Borussia Dortmund. The other loan spot was filled by David Datro Fofana after he yet again failed to secure a permanent transfer away. Strasbourg are his fifth loan club since joining Chelsea in 2023.

How many trophies have Chelsea and Strasbourg won under BlueCo?

Chelsea have won two trophies since BlueCo arrived at the club, while Strasbourg are yet to pick up their first piece of silverware under the ownership group.

Chelsea won the Europa Conference League in May 2025 after beating Real Betis 4-1 in the final. They set a new record for the most goals scored in a single edition of the tournament (42) and they became the first club to win every possible UEFA European competition (Champions League, Europa League, Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Europa Conference League).

In July 2025, Chelsea also won the first iteration of FIFA's revamped Club World Cup in the United States after convincingly beating Champions League winners PSG in the final.

Are Chelsea and Strasbourg allowed to play in Europe together?

Chelsea and Strasbourg are allowed to play in Europe together if they comply with UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.

If Chelsea and Strasbourg both qualify for the same UEFA competition, they would have three options.

1. BlueCo must reduce their stake in one of the clubs to ensure no individual exerts influence over both teams.

2. BlueCo must move one club into a “blind trust” and remove any conflicts, such as board members or staff working across the two clubs.

3. If BlueCo refuse to choose either of those two options, then whoever finished lower in their respective league would be unable to compete in the UEFA competition they qualified for.

If they qualify for different UEFA competitions, however, then neither club will be required to make any changes. For example, Chelsea qualified for the Champions League by finishing fourth in the 2024-25 Premier League season, while Strasbourg achieved Europa Conference League qualification by finishing seventh in Ligue 1.

Both clubs are able to compete in Europe without breaching any UEFA rules.

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