Chelsea cancel controversial transfer over scrutiny fears as Premier League and FIFA investigate Strasbourg deal

Chelsea reportedly pulled the plug on Deivid Washington’s transfer to sister club Strasbourg over fears of the scrutiny the deal would bring the club.

According to French football expert and regular talkSPORT contributor Julien Laurens, everything was agreed between the two clubs – both owned by Todd Boehly – for the 19-year-old Brazilian to move from Chelsea to Strasbourg for £17.6million [€21m], with £2.5m [€3m] in add-ons.

That’s for a player who only joined the Blues last summer for around £13m and has made just three first-team appearances.

Washington was ready to undergo his medical to seal the move to the Ligue 1 club, only for Chelsea to back out of the deal after questions were asked over its legitimacy and the finances involved.

Chelsea were said to be looking to raise around £20m in player sales this summer to help balance their books and keep on the right side of spending regulations, and both clubs have the same owners.

BlueCo consortium, led by Boehly and Clearlake Capital, took over the reins of Chelsea in 2022 and became majority shareholders of Strasbourg in 2023.

The questions over the deal came from fans and pundits in the media – including talkSPORT host Jim White and Arsenal legend Martin Keown – but Laurens says the Premier League and FIFA raised concerns over the transfer between the two sides, too.

It is also claimed Diego Moreira’s move from Chelsea to Strasbourg earlier in the summer window for around £7.5m is being reviewed by the Premier League and FIFA.

Chelsea also moved goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to Strasbourg, which was announced on deadline day, but that was on a straight loan. American defender Caleb Wiley and Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos also made the same move on loan over the summer.

However, Laurens claims Strasbourg were not even in the market for a new striker and were not that keen on Washington, with Chelsea the ones pushing for the deal to happen.

Ultimately, the Premier League club cancelled the switch and the young Brazilian starlet will remain at Stamford Bridge for the time being, with a January exit likely instead.

While this transfer fell through, Chelsea were busy at work throughout deadline day with a number of comings and goings – the highest-profile being the exit of Raheem Sterling and the arrival of Jadon Sancho.

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Sterling departed in a surprise move to Arsenal, who negotiated a deal where the Gunners will be paying significantly less than 50 per cent of the England star’s £325,000-a-week wages.

Sancho is expected to arrive from Manchester United on loan with an obligation to buy for between £20m-£25m, but as of Saturday morning that deal had yet to be confirmed by the clubs.

Meanwhile, Trevoh Chalobah was rescued from Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ by Crystal Palace, who have landed the defender on loan.

Armando Broja also sealed a loan move to Everton, despite a foot injury derailing a proposed move to Ipswich earlier in the window.

White, Keown and Simon Jordan discussed the Chelsea and Strasbourg link, as well as other multi-club models, on Friday’s White and Jordan show.

And while Jim and Martin suggested it was unfair that clubs with the same owner are permitted to trade between each other, Simon insisted it’s part of the rules and now a very common tactic within the game.

White: “I’m looking at the kid, he’s just a boy, Brazilian, he’s 19 and this is Chelsea effectively selling to Chelsea.”

Jordan: “Yep, there’s a bit of that going on in the marketplace, isn’t there?”

Keown: “Does that stack up, Simon? A question to you as our expert – does that stack up? Can they use those figures? Can you actually trade against another club that you own? Is it not sort of like insider trading?”

White: “Exactly! Isn’t the fee inflated?”

Jordan: “I don’t know, I’m not the one buying the player. I’m not an expert in Chelsea’s business so I don’t know why they’ve sold the player for this price and why the other club have bought him. But you’ve got a €16m valuation for a player a year ago. So if he sold for €20m quid you’ve got 20% inflation on the price that was bought for him. That’s your benchmark. Players go up and down. It’s not like he was bought for nothing.”

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Keown: “Do the rules allow for you to continue to trade with a club you already own?”

Jordan: “Well, obviously they do, don’t they? Otherwise they wouldn’t do it.”

Keown “Is that something that’s going to be pushed back? I did hear there was something of change in the air on that one.”

Jordan: “Well, clearly the rule’s quite evident. It wouldn’t take a fool to see it. If they’re transferring them to the other club and the rules stop them from doing it, they wouldn’t be able to do it, would they?”

Keown: “Is that fair?”

Jordan: “It depends what your perspective of fare is. Multi-ownership deals between football clubs or multi-club ownership is now a principle. It happens all of the time. Is it fair that a player can be sold to Saudi and they can decide which football club it goes to?”