Chelsea are reportedly keeping tabs on outgoing Brighton utility player Valentin Barco after an impressive loan stint at Strasbourg.
The 20-year-old joined Brighton in January 2024 from Boca Juniors but only made seven appearances for the club before being loaned out to Sevilla last summer.
That spell was not a fruitful one, and the Argentine returned to the Amex in January after featuring just nine times in all competitions.
But the versatile player’s fortunes have greatly improved after starring for the Ligue 1 side in the second half of this campaign.
Now, Caught Offside states Chelsea are keeping a close eye on the wing-back, who can also play as a winger, a left-back and as a central midfielder.
The youngster played a huge role in guiding Liam Rosenior’s side to seventh in the table, and with it a Europa Conference League play-off place.
Despite these links, a Chelsea move, for the time being, seems unlikely.
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Strasbourg poised to sign Barco
When Barco made the switch from Brighton to Strasbourg, partly due to the Argentina international not being able to curry favour with Seagulls head coach Fabian Hurzeler, it was not just a loan agreement.
Indeed, The Athletic stated the deal included an obligation to buy Barco for a fee of £8.47 million (€10m, $11.3m). And after starting 14 Ligue 1 games in a row for Strasbourg, they may be very happy with this bargain purchase option.
However, BlueCo own both Chelsea and Strasbourg and at present, it seems the Premier League side take precedence on a multitude of areas.
So if Barco continues to impress with the French side, the Blues may come calling for his services. But that is unlikely to be this summer – even if they do want to reportedly bolster their midfield options.
Incidentally, Chelsea have not been shy of plundering Brighton in recent years, including the signings of Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez and former head coach Graham Potter. Some have worked out better than others, mind.
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