Chelsea’s connections with Strasbourg are going to be an interesting one to watch on the transfer market in years to come, and I’ve been given some info about a saga that could become a topic sooner rather than later.
The player catching the eye of Chelsea, and other top clubs, is talented young Argentine Valentin Barco, who has successfully rebuilt his career in central midfield after starting out as a left-back.
The 21-year-old is improving quickly and he’s one of the names high up on Chelsea’s list for the future, with the Blues considering making use of their ties to the Ligue 1 side.
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Chelsea and other big clubs eyeing Valentin Barco transfer
“Chelsea are still closely monitoring Barco after looking at him in the summer,” one source with links to the agents industry told me.
“Bayern Munich have also been watching him, as have Atletico Madrid,” the source added. “But he’s under contract at Strasbourg until 2029 so there’s no panic at Strasbourg’s end – they’ll demand a big fee if anyone makes an approach.”
I’m told that other unnamed clubs also see Barco as “a star of the future”, so there could end up being an intriguing bidding war for him at some point, even if one imagines Chelsea’s connections with Strasbourg would give them an advantage.
At the same time, however, the competition for places in Enzo Maresca’s midfield is an added complication all this, as it’s hard to see anyone realistically getting into that line up ahead of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez any time soon.
What could Valentin Barco offer to Chelsea?
Still, Barco looks like he could become a good enough player to start for a number of top clubs around Europe at some point.
So far this season, the Argentina international has one goal and four assists in 13 games in Ligue 1, though most of his best work comes with the way he protects his defence.
Barco has already been described as “practically the best player in the league” by L’Equipe journalist Bernard Lions.
His form earned him his first senior Argentina cap earlier this season, with the player saying: “It’s the best moment of my career, but I still think I can give much more. I’m working every day to improve the things I don’t do so well.”
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