Emanuel Emegha confirms Chelsea transfer, vows to give 100% for Strasbourg this season | OneFootball

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Emanuel Emegha from sister club Strasbourg, just over a week after the transfer window officially closed.

The 22-year-old striker has signed a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea and will join the Blues in the summer of 2026 on a seven-year contract.

Emegha was considered one of the finest young strikers in Ligue 1 last season. He helped Strasbourg finish seventh in Ligue 1 and qualify for the Europa Conference League with 14 goals in 27 league games.

The Dutchman has already started the 2025/26 campaign in fine form, scoring three goals in four games, including a brace against Brondby IF in the Conference League qualifier.

When confirming his pre-agreed transfer to Chelsea, Emegha confirmed that he had interest from other clubs playing Champions League football.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are believed to be among the teams that were eyeing a move for the Netherlands youth international.

However, he turned down interest from those clubs in favour of staying at Strasbourg and helping the club’s European ambitions this season.

Chelsea and Strasbourg have not disclosed the transfer fee, but this deal has been in the pipeline for some time. Emegha has since confirmed that his decision to join Chelsea next year was based on long-term career ambitions.

“It’s the best thing for my career,” he told Strasbourg reporters. “I want to go as high as possible, play in the Champions League, and the World Cup.

“I could have signed for clubs participating in the Champions League this summer, but the overall project of Strasbourg and Chelsea appealed to me.

“Now, I want to guide Racing in Europe. With this group, we started something great, and I wanted to see it through to the end. I’m going to give everything for the club this season.

“I also spoke to the coach about it, and his opinion was important to me.”

Emegha’s transfer explains why Chelsea refrained from signing a new striker when Liam Delap suffered an injury. The Blues instead chose to .