the Chelsea News
·24 February 2026
“Here we go…” – Romano confirms 22 year old midfielder deal which leaves Chelsea’s sister club searching

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Yahoo sportsthe Chelsea News
·24 February 2026

Patrik Mercado was linked to Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg in the past few days, but Fabrizio Romano has just confirmed he will be joining Sevilla.
It’s late February, a bit of a deal time for transfers, but some deals are being done.
Strasbourg, and by extension Chelsea, were being linked to Independiente midfielder Patrik Mercado in recent days. But no sooner had we seen his name come up than he is going elsewhere.
Fabrizio Romano has come out of hibernation to say that the Ecuadorian will be heading to Sevilla in the summer, following the World Cup.
The transfer insider says he expects an announcement in the next 24 hours after the La Liga side wrapped up a deal for the rising star. Strasbourg and a number of Premier League teams are going to miss out.

Sevilla complete deal for Patrik Mercado according to Fabrizio Romano.
This isn’t a huge surprise – the links to Strasbourg were very brief and never came from a really top source. As a player who will be 23 by the time next season starts, he’s also too old to really fit the BlueCo model when it comes to trying to sign the best young players from South America.
Strasbourg have a great record of signing players, and we’re sure they’ll find someone just as good to come in instead. Their record snapping up domestic youngsters in particular is very impressive.
Chelsea had been tracking Omari Kellyman for two years before he eventually signed for the Blues for £19m, a source told the Athletic.
Ben Foster used to play with Joao Pedro at Watford, and having seen his recent form at Chelsea has changed his mind on the striker.
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