Romano announces “massive move” which secures 22 year old to Chelsea’s sister club | OneFootball

The transfer window is reaching an exciting climax at Chelsea, and the same is true at their sister club Strasbourg, where there was a lot of work to do.

The Alsatians sold a number of first team players and lost their star central midfielder Andrey Santos and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic when their loans from Chelsea expired.

Strasbourg tie down talented Ismael Doukore to new deal

Chelsea tie down Strasbourg midfielder.

Even to get back to last season’s standing is going to be a challenge, and they need all the help they can get. That’s why securing defensive midfielder Ismael Doukoure to a new deal was so important.

Fabrizio Romano has just Tweeted that a 3 year deal he calls a “massive move” to tie down the France U21 international has been agreed. Doukoure had just one year left on his existing deal and there was interest from clubs in England and Germany according to Romano.

Doukoure didn’t feature in the season opening win over Metz at the weekend, presumably because this deal was being sorted out, but can now return to the group. Last season he played 31 games, mainly as a centre back.

BlueCo show what they can do with important deal for sister club

At the very least, this should mean Strasbourg get a big fee in the future. Perhaps it could even mean a move to Chelsea down the line.

Romano insists in his Tweet that manager Liam Rosenior as well as the money and pathway offered by BlueCo were “crucial” in persuading the 22 year old to stay. Strasbourg now have that sort of pull, and can hold on to a lot of their best players for longer rather than cashing in right away.

As well as helping Strasbourg keep their best players, BlueCo and Chelsea could also help more directly. Academy starlet Genesis Antwi has been linked with a move there this summer.