€15m defender set to join Strasbourg after Chelsea's January disaster move disrupts sister club's progress
Strasbourg have beaten Benfica to the signing of up and coming central defender Ibrahima Ba from Famalicao.
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Strasbourg are going to have to make a lot of sales this summer, but they’ve got stuck into the market with some serious additions too. Their fifth addition of the summer is set to be the biggest and most significant so far: L’Equipe report that Ibrahima Ba will join the Alsatians from Famalicao.
The 21 year old was exceptional in the Portuguese league playing under Hugo Oliveira, who has taken over at Strasbourg and now brings his star central defender with him.
Chelsea’s BlueCo sister club never looked the same after the Blues took their young defender Mamadou Sarr in January, another disastrous move to add to the growing list of charges against our sporting directors.
Strasbourg try to get defensive shape back
Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg. (Photo by Simon Hofmann/Getty Images)
This isn’t just a big signing for Strasbourg in terms of the fee, which is reported to be €15m before bonuses which will presumably take it to €20m or beyond. It’s also a sign of the level they’ve reached now in terms of their competition in the market – Ba was Benfica’s top target to replace Antonio Silva, who has gone to Bournemouth.
Stealing them from under their noses is a coup, and the fact that Ba was so keen to join up with his former coach is another great sign.
In other news…
Chelsea are considering what to do with Liam Delap, and may have found a team who are actually interested in him and could rehabilitate him somewhat.
Trevoh Chalobah’s future hangs in the balance, and right now multiple sources are offering different versions of where the bidding stands as teams compete to sign up the Chelsea defender.
