Exclusive says Chelsea agree loan deal to send midfielder to Strasbourg | OneFootball

Chelsea have agreed a deal to loan Dario Essugo to Strasbourg for the season, Nizaar Kinsella is reporting.

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Chelsea have agreed a deal to loan Dario Essugo to Strasbourg for the season, Nizaar Kinsella is reporting exclusively.

A move for the midfielder has looked inevitable. There were doubt about whether he was Chelsea level to begin with, and a series of unfortunate injuries then stopped him making an impact in his first year.

This summer was a chance for a reset, but Xabi Alonso barely used him, and from that it was clear that a loan or sale was the most likely outcome. It’s taken until deadline day, but that move has now happened. Essugo will go and play for teh Blues’ sister club in Ligue 1.

Essugo departure leaves Chelsea midfield short

Dario Essugo (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Kinsella says that “the feeling is that [Essugo] will get a lot of minutes as a number 6 in a position of need for the French club.”

That’s all well and good for the player and his development, and for Strasbourg as well, if he does well. But it puts Chelsea in a tricky spot in midfield, where they’ve also just sold Enzo Fernandez. Right now it doesn’t look like a new player is coming in.

In squad planning terms, it also uses the club’s last overseas loan slot, limiting the options of a few remaining players.

Enzo Fernandez to Man City is a done deal, depleting our midfield options further with Essugo gone.