Frank Leboeuf has been speaking about Strasbourg and their relationship with sister club Chelsea, who recently agreed to sign Emanuel Emegha from them.
Leboeuf represented both clubs during his playing career, spending five years at the former.
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Understandably, then, the World Cup winner cares about Strasbourg, sharing one worry he currently has about the club.
It comes after Strasbourg’s decision to sell Emegha to Chelsea, with the transfer set to officially go through next year.
Emanuel Emegha posing with Chelsea shirt
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Frank Leboeuf fears Strasbourg’s top players will be pinched by Chelsea
Leboeuf doubts that Emegha will be the last Strasbourg star who joins Chelsea.
In an interview with Get French Football News, the Chelsea legend said: “Now, I wonder about the long term, what’s going to happen to the club because every time, you have good players doing great for Strasbourg, they’re going to go back to Chelsea or they’re going to be sold to somebody else because we all know the business system that the Chelsea board is undertaking.”
The Blues are not the only ones who are benefitting from their partnership with Strasbourg. The French club themselves have also got plenty out of having the same owners as the Conference League holders.
During the summer, they were able to loan Kendry Paez, Mike Penders and Mamadou Sarr, young players who possess a lot of talent.
In 2024, Strasbourg also managed to bring in Brazil international Andrey Santos for the season.
Liam Rosenior is a big fan of Santos, comparing him to one of his country’s legends, Dunga, during the previous campaign.
Frank Leboeuf attends Paris Saint-Germain against Aston Villa in the Champions League.
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
The Strasbourg star Chelsea could target next
Leboeuf is probably right. Chelsea’s business with Strasbourg is unlikely to stop at Emegha, especially when the Ligue 1 outfit have a player like Joaquin Panichelli.
Panichelli, who recently won his first cap for the Argentina national team, has probably been even better than Emegha.
This season, he has scored 10 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions. If the former Mirandes man keeps this up, it would not be a shock if Chelsea decided to make a move for him.
However, with Emegha set to join Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Marc Guiu at Stamford Bridge, Panichelli does not need to be a priority for Chelsea for the time being.