Chelsea transfers: Ben Chilwell to join Strasbourg but Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi remain

Chilwell is the sixth player to leave Chelsea for Strasbourg this summer.

Young prospects Mike Penders and Kendry Paez have moved to the BlueCo-owned Ligue 1 club on loan.

Mamadou Sarr joined the Stamford Bridge outfit in a permanent transfer from Strasbourg in the early June transfer window, before returning to the French club on loan following the Club World Cup.

In addition to the three loanees, Strasbourg signed Chelsea academy defender Ishe Samuels-Smith for £6.5m and midfielder Mathis Amougou for around £12m.

However, it was announced on Tuesday that Samuels-Smith, 19, had rejoined Chelsea, a month after joining Strasbourg – but that he would now leave Stamford Bridge for a season-long loan at Championship side Swansea City.

Fifa’s loan rules state a club cannot loan more than three players to the same club in a single season, so only a permanent deal was possible for Chilwell.

There is no law to prevent Chelsea selling players to Strasbourg as long as the fee reflects fair market value.

Last summer, Manchester City and Manchester United were allowed to take their places in European competitions despite multi-club ownership conflicts with Girona and Nice.

That was after they agreed not to transfer players “permanently or on loan, either directly or indirectly from July 2024 to September 2025”.

That arrangement has now ended following the closure of the window.