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Chelsea are reportedly close to signing Strasbourg winger Gessime Yassine, despite no previous links to the player. Former Blues goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon has suggested the deal is “practically” done.
Chelsea have recently signed several players from their BlueCo-owned sister club, including Valentin Barco, Emmanuel Emegha and Mamadou Sarr. The 20-year-old Yassine would also fit the club’s transfer policy of signing young players to long-term contracts.
Here is everything we know about Yassine’s links to Chelsea through Lollichon and the type of player the Blues could be signing. After all, it would take someone special to break into Xabi Alonso’s starting front line at the moment.
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Strasbourg winger Gessime Yassine linked with Chelsea transfer
Christophe Lollichon followed Petr Cech from Rennes to Chelsea in November 2007 and spent the next 15 years at Stamford Bridge before joining Ligue 2 side Dunkerque. Now, in an interview with Ouest-France, the goalkeeping coach reflected on several talented players who recently played for Dunkerque before moving to bigger clubs.
“We’re meticulous about discovering talent and giving them the opportunity to express themselves. We don’t know how far they’ll go,” Lollichon said. “Today, Gessime Yassine plays for Strasbourg, but he’s practically at Chelsea.” His comments suggest he expects Yassine to join Chelsea soon, so here is everything you need to know about the winger.
Although Yassine was born and raised in France, he is of Moroccan descent and represents Morocco at international level (nine caps). He made two senior appearances for French fifth-tier side Istres before joining Dunkerque in January 2024, where he won the club’s Player of the Month award in February and March.
The 20-year-old had scored two goals and provided two assists midway through the 2025-26 Ligue 2 campaign before joining Strasbourg for around £6 million. He has since established himself as one of Strasbourg’s key players, recording three goal contributions in six Ligue 1 games from the right wing this season.
The left-footer enjoys cutting inside onto his stronger foot and taking on defenders with his quick feet and dribbling. Yassine has been described as a street footballer because of his flair, but his end product remains an area for improvement at this stage of his career.
Few would be surprised to see Chelsea sign another promising talent from Strasbourg, but the Blues already have plenty of depth on the wing. Estevao and Geovany Quenda are both struggling for game time at Stamford Bridge, so there is little need to sign Yassine unless the directors believe he has world-class potential.