Argentine international Valentin Barco has joined Chelsea, signing a seven-season deal with the London club. He becomes the second player from Strasbourg—following Emmanuel Emegha—to head to Stamford Bridge this season, it was announced today.
A versatile midfielder who arrived at Strasbourg in 2025 (initially on loan from Brighton), 22-year-old Valentin Barco is Chelsea’s seventh signing of this transfer window under Spanish manager Xabi Alonso; the list of new arrivals also includes Portuguese player Geovany Quenda (formerly of Sporting).
Barco made 58 appearances and scored three goals for Strasbourg—a club owned by the same group (BlueCo) as Chelsea—contributing to the French side’s successful Conference League campaign, in which they reached the semi-finals.
Barco participated in the last World Cup with the Argentine national team, which lost the final to Spain (1–0). He made just one appearance as a substitute during the group stage.
