Chelsea to sell Ishe Samuels-Smith to Strasbourg for £6.5 million

Chelsea have finalised a £6.5 million deal to sell highly-rated Cobham academy graduate Ishe Samuels-Smith to sister club Strasbourg (Football London).

When the news of his potential departure emerged sometime ago, Chelsea fans reacted with shock, considering reports had earmarked him to cover for Marc Cucurella.

However, with the Blues closing in on Jorrel Hato, Samuels-Smith has decided to head elsewhere for game time.

The fact that Chelsea tried to keep him within the BlueCo ecosystem bodes well.

Samuels-Smith is comfortable as a centre-back and a left-back. He would be an ideal fit for Liam Rosenior’s fluid Strasbourg side.

The 19-year-old joined Chelsea from Everton two seasons ago and blossomed into a captain for the Under-21 side. He represented England at the Under-19 level.

He made a handful of appearances on the bench for the senior Chelsea team but ultimately did not get minutes.

Samuels-Smith joins Chelsea’s healthy contingent at Strasbourg, including Mike Penders, Kendry Paez, and Mamadou Sarr (loan deals).

Mathis Amougou joined the Ligue 1 side permanently.

The West Londoners sold Diego Moreira to Strasbourg and sent Djordje Petrovic and Andrey Santos on loan to the club last season.

So far, deals between both clubs have worked out well.

The Samuels-Smith transfer, when finalised, will take Chelsea’s earnings this summer to over £160 million.

Chelsea have continued their heavy spending this summer, but balanced the books reasonably by offloading several players.

Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Petrovic, Bashir Humphreys, Amougou, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Marcus Bettinelli have departed the club.

Others like Ben Chilwell, Raheem Sterling, Alfie Gilchrist, Axel Disasi, Carney Chukwuemeka, Renato Veiga, and Christopher Nkunku are on the chopping block.

Meanwhile, Chelsea could part ways with striker Nicolas Jackson if they receive a massive offer. The Blues aren’t actively pushing to sell but have set an £80 million price tag.