Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell has completed a Deadline Day switch to sister club Strasbourg, drawing the curtain on his turbulent spell at Stamford Bridge.
The 28-year-old left-back, once a cornerstone of the Blues’ 2020/21 Champions League triumph, had fallen firmly out of favour in West London.
After an encouraging six-month loan at Crystal Palace last season, hopes of a permanent deal collapsed, leaving Chilwell on the transfer list this summer.
Instead, the England international now heads to Ligue 1, where he’ll join a growing contingent of Chelsea-linked players at Strasbourg, including Kendry Paez, Mike Penders and Mamadou Sarr.
But while Chilwell found a lifeline, two of his Chelsea teammates remain stranded in the so-called “bomb squad” after failing to secure moves away before the Premier League window closed.
Raheem Sterling, one of the club’s highest earners on around £300,000-per-week, has been frozen out of Enzo Maresca’s plans following a nightmare loan at Arsenal last term. Despite interest from several English and European clubs, no deal materialised before Monday’s deadline.
Joining him is centre-back Axel Disasi, who came close to sealing a move to Bournemouth earlier in the summer but ultimately stayed put. Both players have been training away from the first team since pre-season and now face uncertain futures at Stamford Bridge.
With transfer windows in the Saudi Pro League and Turkish Super Lig still open, Chelsea will be hoping late solutions emerge to ease the squad and wage bill.
