What Valentin Barco's Signing Means For Xabi Alonso's Chelsea Midfield | OneFootball

It's already been a busy summer for Chelsea in the transfer window - and that is expected to continue. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

Valentin Barco brings a lot to the table for Chelsea, but how does he fit into Xabi Alonso’s side?

Chelsea announced Barco’s signing from BlueCo sister club Strasbourg, but his transfer was in the works for some time before it was confirmed.

Chelsea and Strasbourg were reported to have entered talks over the 22-year-old’s potential transfer back in April.

This means Chelsea manager Alonso, whose appointment was announced in May, hardly had any say in the acquisition of Barco - although it's suggested the Spaniard has approved the signing.

Even so, the Argentina international’s arrival is a welcome addition to the squad.

The extent of Barco's role and how Alonso plans to use him is unclear. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Alonso yet to have chance to settle Chelsea’s midfield

There remain questions regarding Alonso’s midfield plans heading into the new season, and pre-season absences in this area have not helped.

What we know is that if he continues to deploy the 4-2-3-1 formation he’s been using in pre-season, there will be only two central midfield spots up for grabs.

Last season's midfield starters, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, have yet to play a pre-season game so far after representing their countries at the 2026 World Cup.

Caicedo joined the pre-season squad last week, but missed Chelsea’s 2-1 pre-season defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday. But he did feature against Juventus.

Fernandez, on the other hand, remains on extended leave. It is worth noting that his future at Chelsea remains unclear after his agent confirmed they were looking at potential options to leave Stamford Bridge.

Additionally, even if Fernandez were to stay at Chelsea, the club would not want a repeat of last season, in which the midfielder arguably played too often.

To put it into perspective, Fernandez made 54 appearances across all competitions. He also played more Premier League minutes than anyone else in the squad.

Regardless, Barco, who shares many traits with his fellow Argentine, could prove to be a solution.

Barco and Fernandez comparison

Like Fernandez, Barco thrives when playing the left pocket. This is quite obvious given that the new Chelsea signing started out as a left-back, the position he primarily played at Boca Juniors and Brighton.

Fernandez often plays higher up the pitch than Barco, but both can play any midfield position.

The former’s tendency to make runs into the box makes him a more reliable goalscoring threat, while Barco is statistically a better ball winner.

There will be many familiar faces for Barco at Chelsea, including Fernandez - plus former Strasbourg teammates: Sarr, Penders, Anselmino and Emegha.

Barco is by no means a great defender, but he averaged more tackles and won more of his duels compared to Fernandez.

His deeper position also allowed Barco to make more forward passes per 90 (20.5) than Fernandez (16.1) last season in league competitions.

There is also the advantage of having Barco as an additional cover for the left-back or even left wing-back position, if Alonso wants to play a back-three structure.

Unfortunately, Barco also shares Fernandez’s poor disciplinary record.

Barco collected eight yellow cards and one red card across all competitions last season.

The young midfielder shows a lot of grit and tenacity on the pitch off the ball, but his tendency to lunge into tackles has caused issues.

On the other hand, he is also very good at drawing fouls from his opponents, having won 2.6 fouls per 90 last term.

Another interesting thing about Barco is how he likes to play lobbed passes. While it is not necessarily a bad thing, this may not work as often at Chelsea, where he may face low-block defences on a more regular basis than when he was at Strasbourg.