Official: RC Strasbourg sign Ben Chilwell from Chelsea

The longest-serving (non-Academy) member of the Chelsea first(ish)-team has left today, in the final hours of the transfer window, as Ben Chilwell switched BlueCo pillars from Chelsea to Strasbourg (presumably for a nominal fee), signing a two-year contract with our sister club in Ligue 1. That’s the same length as he had remaining on his Chelsea deal.

Chilwell joined Chelsea back in 2020 from Leicester City and immediately became a key player on the left flank, first under Frank Lampard and then, famously, under Thomas Tuchel. Tuchel’s wingback-focused system delivered a Champions League, Super Cup, and Club World Cup (previous format) to the SW6, and we looked like title favorites for a while in 2021-22 as well — a bid that collapsed in large part due to the injuries to (Vice-captain) Chilly and (Captain) Reece James on the opposite flank. And then came BlueCo and Chilwell never quite regained his stature at the club.

Instead, he became a founding member of the Bomb Squad™ last year before finding some football to play on loan at Crystal Palace, even managing to win an historic FA Cup with the Eagles in the process.

There wasn’t much reported interest in Chilly this summer, but he’s still just 28 and hardly ready to hang up his boots. The switch to Strasbourg will hopefully result in him playing football regularly once again, and hopefully recover for a career renaissance, even. It’s the least he deserves.

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