Chelsea make U-turn on Ishe Samuels-Smith’s Strasbourg move as youngster joins Swansea on loan

Chelsea have confirmed that young left-back Ishe Samuels-Smith has rejoined the club from Strasbourg and has now moved to Swansea City on a season-long loan.

Samuels-Smith had initially joined Strasbourg permanently in July as Chelsea embarked on a massive clear-out.

This sudden twist might be related to left-back Ben Chilwell’s deadline day move to the Ligue 1 club.

Samuels-Smith began his career at Everton, where he stood out as one of their best academy player. The Guardian named him the best talent at the Merseyside outfit in 2020.

He was named in the first team matchday squad twice before joining Chelsea in 2023.

Samuels-Smith will now spend the rest of the campaign with Swansea, where he is expected to provide cover for the left side of the club’s defence.

Director of football Richard Montague revealed the reason behind signing the promising left-back.

He told swanseacity.com: “The need to bolster our options on the left side of defence has been well-documented.

“We believe the addition of high-quality cover in Ishé will be important for the season ahead and in allowing us to continue to assess this position ahead of future windows.”

Samuels-Smith was named in the England U20 squad for their international friendly against Italy on Friday.

He could debut for Swansea when they face Hull City after the international break.