Premier League giants Chelsea are reportedly poised to complete the signing of Argentina midfielder Valentin Barco from French Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
Fabrizio Romano reports all documents have been signed for Barco to join Chelsea from Strasbourg, following reports of a deal in May.
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A $65million transfer fee has been mooted for the 21-year-old, who featured for Argentina at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.
🚨🔵 All documents are signed for Valentín Barco to join Chelsea from Strasbourg after the agreement done since May.
The Argentinian will soon be announced as new #CFC player and welcomed by Xabi Alonso.
Here we go, 100% confirmed. pic.twitter.com/N6B6pJyLwB
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 22, 2026
Barco was at the centre of heated scenes at the end of Argentina’s semi-final win over bitter rivals England at the World Cup, where he was slapped by Jude Bellingham.
Argentina completed a dramatic stoppage-time comeback before England star Bellingham and his teammates took exception to substitute Barco after he ran onto the pitch to celebrate in front of Three Lions players.
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“We’ve not seen much sportsmanship today and that was probably the worst example of sportsmanship we’ve seen at this World Cup,” former England international Paul Robinson said on BBC Radio 5 Live at the time.
Barco has called Strasbourg home since 2025, having initially arrived on loan from Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion, where he spent a brief period in 2024-25 after joining from Argentina giants Boca Juniors.
Last season, he scored three goals and supplied nine assists n 43 matches across all competitions as Strasbourg reached the UEFA Conference League final.
Chelsea and Strasbourg are closely linked through their shared ownership by the BlueCo consortium and its multi-club model.
Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea have already signed Morgan Rogers, Geovany Quenda, Marco Palestra and Emmanuel Emegha while Marc Cucerella, Andrey Santos and Tyrique George have departed.
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