Chelsea have signed Argentina international Valentín Barco from sister club Strasbourg on a seven-year deal.
The 22-year-old, who played seven times for Brighton including six Premier League appearances during the 2023-24 season, becomes the seventh arrival of new manager Xabi Alonso’s reign.
A versatile player who can be used in central midfield as well as his regular position of left-back, Barco was in the Argentina squad that finished as runners-up at the World Cup, winning his fifth cap in the 3-1 group-stage win over Jordan.
He moved to Strasbourg initially on loan from Brighton in 2024 but signed permanently a year later having helped the club to qualify for the Conference League. In all he made 53 appearances for the Ligue 1 side.
He was involved in a heated exchange with England’s Jude Bellingham immediately after his side’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final win in Atlanta, with Bellingham appearing to clip Barco around the head. An unused substitute, the Argentinian had earlier run on to the pitch to celebrate after Enzo Fernández had equalised. He is expected to join up shortly with his new teammates on their tour of Australia and Hong Kong.
It continues a busy summer in the transfer market for Chelsea as they look to remodel under Alonso. On Saturday they confirmed the signing of veteran striker Danny Welbeck from Brighton, following the signings of Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa. Marco Palestra, Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda have also been signed.
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