Chelsea’s long-term Emanuel Emegha plan revealed after deal agreed
Chelsea’s plans for Emanuel Emegha when he officially joins the club next summer have been revealed after his move from sister club Strasbourg was recently announced.
Chelsea spent big over the summer window as they aimed to back Enzo Maresca with more firepower and depth, especially in attack, with Joao Pedro joining the club from Brighton and Liam Delap arriving from Ipswich Town.
Marc Guiu was allowed to join Sunderland on loan as a result, but was soon recalled by Chelsea just weeks after he left following Delap’s injury and Nicolas Jackson’s own loan exit to Bayern Munich.
Their striker situation took another twist last month as Chelsea announced that Emanuel Emegha will be joining the club in the summer of 2026 from sister club Strasbourg following an impressive 2024-25 Ligue 1 campaign.
There have been doubts around what the Blues will choose to do with the Dutchman next year, considering their already decent depth up-front when Pedro and Delap are fit, and a new development has now emerged over Emegha’s future in West London.
Emegha will be staying with Chelsea next summer after official arrival
Football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley recently exclusively told Football Insider that BlueCo’s ownership of Chelsea and Strasbourg will be looked at by both FIFA and UEFA following uproar from fans of the French side over Emegha’s impending move to Stamford Bridge.
Any potential sanctions for the Blues’ owners are clearly not playing on their mind regarding the Dutch youth international, however, with The Mail‘s Kieran Gill (8 October) revealing that Emegha is set to stay with Chelsea once he officially arrives from Strasbourg next summer.
The 22-year-old will add to the depth already at Maresca’s disposal, with Chelsea happy to persist with numerous decent strikers within their ranks rather than one outright star.
Marc Guiu to be sold next summer as Emegha arrives
Spanish youngster Guiu netted six times in 16 appearances across all competitions in 2024-25 after he joined Chelsea from Barcelona, but he has found game-time hard to come by this season following his short-lived spell on Wearside.
Guiu has only played once for the Blues this season, last time out against Liverpool, and he is obviously already a way down the pecking order at the club, effectively fourth-choice in attack behind Pedro, Delap and Tyrique George.
Even if George departs soon like many expect him to, the arrival of Emegha is surely set to force Guiu out of the club next summer, now that he looks likely to stay after joining from Strasbourg.
Emegha boasts a great scoring record in Ligue 1, with 14 goals and three assists in 27 appearances last term and four goal contributions in as many games so far this season, while he is simply more proven and a more well-rounded player than the Spaniard.
Guiu is not set to leave Chelsea in January, and it looks as if he will be consigned to a season of limbo on the fringes of the Blues’ first-team before an inevitable exit ahead of next term.