Strasbourg to sign another wonderkid for Chelsea after Pedro Lima

Robin Bairner

• 13 Jun 2024 07:15 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea’s partnership with Ligue 1 side Strasbourg continues to pay dividends for the Premier League giants, with Pedro Lima heading to Stamford Bridge via France, but he is not the only young talent set to stop off at Racing before joining the Blues.

FootballTransfers exclusive revealed, via the Transfers Podcast, that Chelsea were pursuing a deal for Sporting Recife’s Pedro Lima.

It is a transfer that the Blues will get over the line, but the youngster will be farmed out to Strasbourg at first because he is not eligible for a work permit in the UK.

Chelsea are poised to repeat a similar trick with another wonderkid, albeit this one is poised to sign a permanent deal with the French club, which is also owned by BlueCo.

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Pape Daoudo Diong set for the Chelsea family

Pape Daouda Diong, who plays for the Foot Darou Salam academy, is poised to leave his club to join up with Strasbourg in a deal worth €2.2 million, including bonuses. Local media report the upfront fee will be €1.2m, with another €1m trigged by bonuses.

Diong, who starred in the U17 World Cup for Senegal, will sign a five-year contract with Strasbourg, according to L’Equipe, and is set to join up with his teammates for pre-season training.

The French sportspaper notes that: “The very probable signing of Diong, who will turn 18 on 15 June, has been validated by the leaders of Chelsea, where the young man underwent a long trial during the first half of 2024.”

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The news, however, is unlikely to thrill Strasbourg supporters, who have repeatedly protested over the course of the last year over BlueCo’s ownership of the club.

In particular, there is discontent that the first team has been packed with young players not good enough to make them competitive in Ligue 1, a thought that even head coach Patrick Vieira has quietly made public at times.

Diong, and indeed Pedro Lima, could find themselves in a hostile atmosphere if things start to go wrong at Strasbourg.