Chelsea connection under scrutiny as Strasbourg lose again

Strasbourg were beaten astatine Nice connected Sunday connected their instrumentality to action, fielding a precise young squad connected the Cote d’Azur. Capable of the champion and the worst since the commencement of the season, the Alsace nine are present asked whether they are paying for a deficiency of acquisition aft their summertime 2026 recruitment, which included 5 Chelsea players.

Already beaten by Paris FC earlier the planetary break, Strasbourg conceded a 2nd successive Ligue 1 decision astatine Nice connected Sunday (2-1).

Ahead done a Dario Essugo goal, Hugo Oliveira’s players yet cracked pursuing an ain extremity from Pape Demba Diop and a onslaught from Jonathan Clauss. It brought down to world a broadside that has shown some attacking flashes and large method shortcomings since the commencement of the 2026-27 season.

Strasbourg person the youngest squad successful Ligue 1

Disrupted by a last planetary interruption that progressive a bully 10 players, forcing immoderate to instrumentality to Alsace precise (too) late, the Portuguese manager fielded a precise young starting XI with an mean property of 21.5, against 26.9 for Nice.

Without adjacent mentioning the crippled astatine the Allianz Riviera, Strasbourg person the youngest squad of the 18 Ligue 1 clubs this play (21.6 years), up of Toulouse (22.7) and Auxerre (23.4). That is far, precise far, from the mean property of the Olympique de Marseille players, astatine 27.2 the oldest squad successful the division.

Questioned by the media aft the defeat, Oliveira refused to fell down the excuse of a deficiency of acquisition successful his squad.

‘It is experience, but it is not an excuse. We travel present to work, to progress, to deliberation astir the contiguous infinitesimal and triumph the match, and past to larn faster. And for that, we person to enactment precise hard, recognize the concern and deliberation collectively.’

And yet Liam Rosenior’s successor successful the dugout indispensable heavy down beryllium starting to wonderment whether the summertime 2026 transportation model was not excessively concentrated connected young players unused to French football.

Chelsea transportation nether scrutiny

Of the 17 caller signings registered successful the summer, for full spending of €100m (£85m), the oldest is Filip Jorgensen, arsenic the Danish goalkeeper connected indebtedness from the English nine Chelsea is lone 24. The adjacent narration with Chelsea, who stock the aforesaid owners successful BlueCo, inevitably raises questions.

In the past summertime transportation window, Strasbourg recruited 5 Chelsea players with constricted acquisition astatine the highest level: Deivid Washington, Omari Kellyman, Filip Jorgensen, Dario Essugo and Genesis Antwi.

Will the Alsace nine statesman to regret not signing established Ligue 1 figures?