Chelsea have completed the signing of Valentin Barco from sister club Strasbourg on a seven-year contract through to 2033.
The 22-year-old Argentina international, who previously made six Premier League appearances for Brighton & Hove Albion, has been signed following the exit of left-back Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid earlier this summer.
The versatile Barco had predominantly played left-back during the early phase of his career, but was deployed in various midfield roles during his time at Strasbourg.
Cucurella’s exit earlier this summer had left Jorrel Hato as the only senior recognised left-back in Xabi Alonso’s squad.
BlueCo, a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, took control of Chelsea in 2022 and Strasbourg in June 2023.
Striker Emanuel Emegha has already joined Chelsea this summer from the French club on a pre-agreed deal, with Barco the 13th player to move between the clubs in a three-year period.
Barco becomes Chelsea’s seventh signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Danny Welbeck, Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix, Geovany Quenda, Marco Palestra and striker Emmanuel Emegha.
The Athletic reported in July that Barco would be completing a move to Stamford Bridge, having featured in Lionel Scaloni’s World Cup squad this summer, making his only appearance in a 19-minute cameo during their final group-stage match against Jordan.
Despite being on the bench for their semi-final against England, he appeared to provoke Jude Bellingham by running across the pitch in front of his opponents in celebration, and the Real Madrid midfielder slapped him on the back of the head.
Barco was a regular for Strasbourg during the 2025-26 campaign, recording three goals and nine assists from midfield in 43 appearances in all competitions. He joined the Ligue 1 side on loan in the winter transfer window of 2024-25, and an obligation to buy for €10million (£8.47m) was completed last summer.
Having come through the ranks at Boca Juniors and spending time on loan with Sevilla in La Liga, Barco made only seven appearances for Brighton before going on to play 58 times for Strasbourg.
