French outfit Racing Club de Strasbourg has begun life under the Chelsea ownership umbrella in earnest this summer after Les Bleu et Blanc sealed the record-breaking purchase of Ivorian international center-back Abakar Sylla.
The 20-year-old Ivorian international is coming off a highly-successful full debut season in Brugge, which included helping the Belgian outfit reach the knockout stages of the Champions League.
As confirmed by football insider Fabrizio Romano, Strasbourg has completed their first official transfer under West London hegemony when they splashed a total of €20m + €2m for Sylla over two installments, trumping their previous record spend (€10m) on current headline striker Habib Diallo.
Sylla made 27 appearances for Brugge across all competitions in 2022-23, while his lone goal during the season came during match day one of the Champions League group stages when he hit the match-winner against Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.
Abakar Sylla joins Strasbourg on club record fee right after takeover 🔵🇨🇮
◉ €20m final fee plus €2m add ons.
◉ €10m now and €10m in 2024, two installments.
◉ 10% sell on clause for Club Brugge.Official, completed. pic.twitter.com/1Juhr6lEqK
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 15, 2023
BlueCo, the overall parent corporation in charge of Chelsea, had previously reached an agreement three weeks ago which saw them purchase a majority stake in the French club, rumored to be a complete takeover. This was part of the long-term vision of both Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali to bring a multi-club network to the Premier League giants akin to what City Football Group and Red Bull have championed.
Club president Marc Keller, former French international and Strasbourg as well as the club’s biggest shareholder, insisted that the French side be allowed to keep their backroom setup in place moving forward, which should still allow the Alsatian outfit to remain connected to both the fans as well as it’s overall remit in terms of player recruitment.
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