Chelsea have announced a pre-agreement to sign striker Emanuel Emegha from partner club Strasbourg in 2026.
The 22-year-old has decided to stay at the French Ligue 1 club – owned, like the Blues, by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital – for another season before moving to west London on a seven-year contract.
Multiple sources say the Netherlands Under-21s international turned down interest from Champions League and Premier League clubs having agreed move to Stamford Bridge earlier this year ahead of next season.
His incoming move is said to be one of the factors behind Chelsea deciding against signing a striker on transfer deadline day to replace the injured Liam Delap, who is now expected to be out for “10 to 12 weeks” according to manager Enzo Maresca.
Emegha is Strasbourg’s captain and leads them into their first European campaign since 2020 through the Conference League.
He scored 23 goals in 57 league appearances and is one of the most important players at the club, which is led by English manager Liam Rosenior.
The move again highlights the close connection between Chelsea and Strasbourg after the French club was bought by new multi-club group BlueCo in 2023 for £65m.
Defender Ben Chilwell’s move to Strasbourg on transfer deadline day was the sixth between the clubs over the summer.
Young prospects Mike Penders and Kendry Paez joined Chelsea this summer and moved to the Ligue 1 club on loan. Mamadou Sarr joined Chelsea in a permanent £11.8m transfer from Strasbourg, before returning to the French club on loan following the Club World Cup.
In addition to the three loanees, Strasbourg signed Chelsea academy defender Ishe Samuels-Smith for £6.5m and midfielder Mathis Amougou for about £12m.
However, it was announced on Tuesday that Samuels-Smith, 19, had rejoined Chelsea, a month after going to Strasbourg – but that he would immediately leave Stamford Bridge for a season-long loan at Championship side Swansea City.
The reasons cited were a series of events impacting his development opportunities, including the addition of Chilwell and a contract renewal for defender Ismael Doukoure, who had previously been frozen out at Strasbourg.
The £6.5m was eventually refunded, with similarities in the case cited to when Tyler Dibling rejoined Southampton from Chelsea in 2022 because of “homesickness”.
Fifa’s loan rules state a club cannot loan more than three players to the same club in a single season so only a permanent deal was possible for Chilwell. Chelsea used three of their six international loan spots with Strasbourg.
However, there is no law to prevent Chelsea selling players to Strasbourg as long as the fee reflects fair market value.
Last summer, Manchester City and Manchester United were allowed to take their places in European competitions despite multi-club ownership conflicts with Girona and Nice.
That was after they agreed not to transfer players “permanently or on loan, either directly or indirectly from July 2024 to September 2025”.
That arrangement has now ended following the closure of the window.
