Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and his Blueco Consortium are no stranger to a Maas in the football world, and their acquisition of RC Strasbourg can be one of their smartest business movements.
The Ligue 1 side has a campaign to remember while they are seventh, only four points short of second place and still fighting in the hunt for Champions League football next season.
A matter of weeks ago I traveled to Eastern France to view the team personally in their 2-2 draw versus Ineos ownership OGC Nice, and I was blown away by the quality of some of their players, not least that loan from Chelsea, Andrey Santos and Djordje Petroovic.
Their fans are rightly worried that every great talent they produce or buy will be hugged around by the Stamford Bridge outfit and to the Hart van Zuidwest -Lounds is lured in a transaction comparable to when I move money from my current account to my savings.
It is no secret that Chelsea has spent obscene amounts of money in recent windows, but many fans will tell you that there are still problem positions in the side of Enzo Maresca.
Nicolas Jackson is good, but there are concerns about his ability to be a Premier League who wins Nine.
Wesley Fofana is a (sometimes) walking injury, and it is still to see whether Reece James can keep his recurring injuries away this time.
So, which players from Strasbourg will undoubtedly keep an eye on Blueco -ownership, who could move to London rather than you think?
1) Emanuel Emegha
22 years old, striker. Market value: £ 17 million
He attracts the number 10 shirt as a striker, but this man is a serious number nine.
The Dutch attacker joined RCSA in 2023 in a four -year deal with a value of just over £ 11 million and has scored 21 goals in 52 games since his arrival.
That said, this campaign he has 14 goals and 3 assists in 26 league games, and impressed me with his all -round game in their game versus Nice.
One of Jackson's criticism this season is his threat in the box, the Senegalese striker is great in structure and has shown technical skills on the ball, but is not a huge threat in the box or in the air.
Emegha offers exactly that.
On 6'5 feet, he is a danger in the air and was clinical when he also gets the chance to shoot, I sat and watched as he shoulder the Moises Bombito before he calmed the ball on the nearby pole in the back of the net.
He may not have been the superstar name of Viktor Gyokeres or Premier League has been proven like Liam Delap, but he is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Expect that many people will soon talk about him for a big step, especially if Strasbourg will play in Europe next year.
2) Guela Doue
22 years old, immediately back/center back. Market value: £ 10.1 million
When he spoke with Strasbourgers, Guela Doue was one name that appeared over and over again.
His brother is currently one of the most exciting talents in world football and illuminates the Champions League and Ligue 1 this season with PSG – Desire Doue if you have not yet compiled 2+2.
Guela is the older of the two and is much less flashy on the field, and prefers to settle as one of the best full-backs of the French top flight this season.
As mentioned earlier, Reece James Fitness-Boring Chelsea fans have sometimes called for a new right back.
However, what fits Doue so well is the style of how he plays for Strasbourg.
He was very solid defensive against Nice, he played as a right -sided middle back and allowed the left -sided defender to push much further on the field, which is known for Liam Rosenior's side, Face Diego Moreira, but in the case of Chelsea Marc Cucurella would be.
When James is fit, there is no doubt that he is Chelsea's startback, but Guela Doue would be a more than capable deputy for him and Reece would allow Reece to be somewhat equipped with the blues that hope to compete on all fronts next season.
However, the stumbling block for this movement could be Josh Acheampong.
The Cobham Academy of Chelsea has almost certainly produced another gem in him, and most fans will hope that he can become James' deputy himself.
3) Dilane Bakwa
22 years, right, market value £ 15.2 million
I know what you think, Chelsea is not too few judges.
Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto have both become members of the club in recent seasons, and they have an assumed generation talent that participates in the summer in the form of Willian Estevao.
So I am not saying that the blues must sign him immediately, I just say he is someone to keep an eye on.
Ligue 1 served this season as something of a proof of difficult and exciting Wingers, such as Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele, Rayan Cherki and this man, Dilane Bakwa.
Besides Santos and Petrovic, the French attacker is the best player of the club for me this campaign and has the potential to illuminate the Champions League rather than you could expect.
He is stylistically relatively similar to Madueke, with his stop-start dribbling that causes chaos for defenders and his ability to create opportunities and shots that are reminiscent of Chelsea's current number 11.
With five goals and eight assists in 27 games so far this season, he has shown that he has the talent as one of the best broad players in the division, but perhaps needs a little more time to really worse those figures next year.
He also played on the left and sometimes centrally for Strasbourg, which Maresca will like, but he might have to refine his end product before he makes a move from France.
4) Valentin Barco
20 years old, left/central midfield, market value £ 6 million
Brighton thought they had hit the jackpot again with their ridiculously good reconnaissance methods when they picked Valentin Barco from Boca Juniors.
He joined the seagulls in 2024, but was quickly lent to Seville in a movement that did not really work for him before he was borrowed on Strasbourg, who have the obligation to buy him after his enchantment in France.
He mainly plays as a left side, but this season under Rosenior, Rosenior has reversed in a similar fungus as Cucurella in Chelsea – and he has been sensational to do this.
He has had two assists in 11 games so far, but recently had his Gaffer enthusiastic about him after a stunning performance versus Lyon in which he was rewarded with three days off to become father for the first time before the game.
Because Cucurella is one of the best left-wing backs in Europe as it looks now, it is unlikely that Barco would come in and move it, but Chelsea has no real backup for the curly head of Spaniard-like that could become a problem if the blues on all fronts compete in the coming seasons.
In his absence this season we have seen the will of Levi Colwill, Reece James and Malo Gusto fill in – all experiments that were not exactly ideal.
For now it is not logical to remove Valentin from an environment where he is doing so well, but if the form of Cucurella drops or he is confronted with a injury of injuries, do not be surprised to hear Barco's name brand branded bridge for long.