Chelsea are reportedly closing in on a transfer deal for Strasbourg defensive midfielder Valentin Barco already.
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There’s still a few months before the summer transfer window, but the Blues seem to be advancing on the signing of Barco from fellow BlueCo club Strasbourg, according to journalist Ekrem Konur.
Posting on X today, the reporter stated that this deal was nearly done due to smooth negotiations between the two clubs, who obviously have a good relationship due to both being part of the BlueCo group led by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali…
? #ChelseaFC ??
Chelsea are closing in on Valentin Barco, who has shone at Strasbourg.? Shared ownership ? makes the move smoother.
? Talks ? at advanced stage, deal nearly done. pic.twitter.com/2PkTl4R1Y4
— Ekrem KONUR (@Ekremkonur) March 18, 2026
It seems Chelsea fans can start to get excited about this one as a deal could be done quickly, and this story comes just a few days after Fichajes also linked the 21-year-old with the west London giants.
Valentin Barco to Chelsea to replace Enzo Fernandez?
A lot could change between now and the summer, but perhaps Barco is being targeted to replace Enzo Fernandez amid question-marks over his future at Stamford Bridge.
According to Simon Phillips, five clubs are eyeing up Fernandez and one source even suggests there’s a 99% chance that the Argentina international will leave CFC this summer.
When analysing the Barco to Chelsea transfer recently, we scored it as just 13/25 with our Transfer Fit rating system, but we can now bump that score up a bit…
| Valentin Barco | TOTAL SCORE: 17/25 |
| Transfer fee | *** |
| Performance | **** |
| Achievements | ** |
| Career phase | **** |
| Squad need | **** |
We would now rate this at 17/25, adding points because Fernandez’s departure would increase Chelsea’s ‘squad need’ for the player, while smooth negotiations also suggest they’ll be getting this promising young talent for a favourable price.
Find out more about how we calculate our Transfer Fit ratings here!
Chelsea have previously used their relationship with Strasbourg to hire Liam Rosenior as manager, while Emanuel Emegha will join the Blues from the Ligue 1 club next season.