Chelsea connection under scrutiny as Strasbourg lose again

Strasbourg were beaten at Nice on Sunday on their return to action, fielding a very young team on the Cote d’Azur. Capable of the best and the worst since the start of the season, the Alsace club are now asked whether they are paying for a lack of experience after their summer 2026 recruitment, which included five Chelsea players.

Already beaten by Paris FC before the international break, Strasbourg conceded a second successive Ligue 1 defeat at Nice on Sunday (2-1).

Ahead through a Dario Essugo goal, Hugo Oliveira’s players ultimately cracked following an own goal from Pape Demba Diop and a strike from Jonathan Clauss. It brought down to earth a side that has shown both attacking flashes and major technical shortcomings since the start of the 2026-27 season.

Strasbourg have the youngest squad in Ligue 1

Disrupted by a final international break that involved a good ten players, forcing some to return to Alsace very (too) late, the Portuguese manager fielded a very young starting XI with an average age of 21.5, against 26.9 for Nice.

Without even mentioning the game at the Allianz Riviera, Strasbourg have the youngest squad of the 18 Ligue 1 clubs this season (21.6 years), ahead of Toulouse (22.7) and Auxerre (23.4). That is far, very far, from the average age of the Olympique de Marseille players, at 27.2 the oldest squad in the division.

Questioned by the media after the defeat, Oliveira refused to hide behind the excuse of a lack of experience in his squad.

‘It is experience, but it is not an excuse. We come here to work, to progress, to think about the present moment and win the match, and then to learn faster. And for that, we have to work very hard, understand the situation and think collectively.’

And yet Liam Rosenior’s successor in the dugout must deep down be starting to wonder whether the summer 2026 transfer window was not too concentrated on young players unused to French football.

Chelsea connection under scrutiny

Of the 17 new signings registered in the summer, for total spending of €100m (£85m), the oldest is Filip Jorgensen, as the Danish goalkeeper on loan from the English club Chelsea is only 24. The close relationship with Chelsea, who share the same owners in BlueCo, inevitably raises questions.

In the last summer transfer window, Strasbourg recruited five Chelsea players with limited experience at the highest level: Deivid Washington, Omari Kellyman, Filip Jorgensen, Dario Essugo and Genesis Antwi.

Will the Alsace club begin to regret not signing established Ligue 1 figures?