Chelsea have confirmed the arrival of Strasbourg midfielder Valentin Barco on a seven-year contract.
The 21-year-old is Chelsea’s sixth addition of the summer, following Morgan Rogers, Danny Welbeck, Emmanuel Emegha, Maxence Lacroix and Marco Palestra.
Barco will link up with the rest of Chelsea’s squad on their pre-season tour before the Blues play Italian club Juventus in Hong Kong on 5 August.
The transfer fee has not been made public.
Barco made one appearance for Argentina during the 2026 World Cup, in which they finished second to Spain. He was also slapped by Jude Bellingham following Argentina’s semi-final win against England.
After progressing through Boca Juniors’ youth system, Barco moved to Brighton in 2024 in a £7.9m transfer.
His time on the south coast lasted only a year before he signed for Strasbourg the next summer, having previously impressed during a loan spell there.
He is the second player to move from Strasbourg to Chelsea this summer. Both clubs are controlled by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
This marks the 13th transfer agreement between the clubs since the beginning of last season.
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