Strasbourg star admits 'frustration' at BlueCo's Chelsea project

Stuart Telford

• 28 Apr 2024 10:00 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly bought Ligue 1 club Strasbourg last summer, but on-field results have been just as underwhelming in France as in England…

Boehly, through his BlueCo investment vehicle, paid more than €75 million for a majority stake in Strasbourg last June, and Chelsea have since sent some of their brightest starlets on loan there.

Brazilian pair Angelo and Andrey Santos are currently at the Stade de la Meinau, and the former has four assists to his name from 21 Ligue 1 appearances, only 11 of them starts.

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But Strasbourg nonetheless find themselves 13th in the table, statistically closer to the relegation quagmire than the European chase, and now veteran teammate Thomas Delaine has spoken out.

"On paper it was the best project that presented itself to me," he told Foot Mercato of his decision to join on a free from regional rivals Metz last summer. "[But] there's a bit of frustration, both in terms of the result but also in terms of attitude.

Two-way street

Chelsea will have first refusal on Strasbourg talents, with former France youth international pair Ismael Doukoure and Habib Diarra in particular attracting attention (the latter is now capped at full international level by Senegal).

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Manager Patrick Vieira might also plot a path back to the Premier League if he can turn Strasbourg's fortunes around.

A future transfer for Delaine, who is the third-oldest player in the squad at 32, seems unlikely, though, and he is resigned to taking the rough with the smooth in Strasbourg's BlueCo era.

"We'd been warned of the upcoming takeover by the president [Marc Keller]," he continued. "He explained concretely and explicitly why he'd made this decision.

"You have to get into the new project, integrate and it worked. For the players, it hasn't changed anything in our approach on the pitch pr the club environment."