BlueCo, a consortium that purchased Chelsea last summer have now acquired close to 100% stake in RC Strasbourg. The takeover is in line with Todd Boehly’s vision to have the ownership of multiple clubs and the Strasbourg takeover is just the first step. With the Strasbourg takeover, Chelsea could now loan out David Datro Fofana to the Ligue 1 club.
BlueCo will become the new shareholders of the Ligue 1 club subject to consultation process with the relevant representative bodies. Initially, the reports suggested that Boehly and Clearlake Capital would be restricted to a minority stake but a close to 100% stake has been secured for a deal of around £65 million.
CFC have been studying a number of football markets and clubs in France, Portugal, South America and Belgium. After the Strasbourg takeover, Chelsea owners now seem determined to fast track their multi club ownership project and reap benefits of the well constructed club ecosystem.
Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana could join Strasbourg on loan
Look at City Football group for example. Over the years, Manchester City have loaned their youngsters and academy players to clubs who are part of the City Football Group. Is it legal? Absolutely. As long as the loan deals are fair and agreements over the fees seem sensible, it is legal. Yangel Herrera and Yan Couto spent the 2022-23 season at Girona. Diego Rosa was on loan at Esporte Club Bahia.
Having a multi club ownership will allow Chelsea to send players on loan that need to play regular minutes but are raw and unpolished to play for CFC. By loaning them to clubs that are part of the BlueCo ecosystem, Chelsea can keep track of their development and progress better. The Blues seem to be wasting no time of using the Strasbourg connection as the French club have shown interest in acquiring a Chelsea striker.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Strasbourg have emerged as one of the options for Datro Fofana. The Ivorian is likely to be loaned out this summer and a number of clubs have shown interest in the 20 year old youngster. Galatasaray are one of the teams keeping an eye and now Strasbourg have emerged as a strong option.
With the takeover happening, the deal could be completed very soon without any hindrances if CFC decide to loan Datro Fofana to the French club. Datro Fofana needs to play regularly which is almost impossible at Chelsea at this stage so loaning him out to Strasbourg where he will be a starter does sound like a smart plan.