It has now been more than two months since Chelsea appointed Liam Rosenior as manager. The appointment was met with a lot of resistance from the supporters. Understandably so, as the Englishman did not have an impressive enough resume for a job of this magnitude.
To be fair, Rosenior has exceeded expectations so far, at least in my eyes. But if he is to have any hope of remaining Chelsea manager in the long run, the club will need to back him with new signings.
There have been no lack of signings at Chelsea since BlueCo took over. Far too many of them are not good enough though. As a result, the revolving door has remained in constant motion over the last four years. Expect that to be the case next summer as well.
It looks like Chelsea might be closing in on their first signing under Rosenior. Once again, they look set to bring in someone from Strasbourg, despite the anger of their fans towards the model.
Argentine international very close to Chelsea move
It is an Argentine international Rosenior will know well from his time managing Strasbourg. According to Guillem Balague, Barco is very close to Chelsea.
Although Barco made a name for himself as a left-back at Boca Juniors, he has mostly played as a midfielder for Strasbourg. One would imagine that is the role Rosenior would want him to play for the Blues, if he does indeed end up at Chelsea.
Chelsea continue to look at Strasbourg for new signings
Emmanuel Emegha is already set to join Chelsea from Strasbourg next summer. In the winter, they cut short Mamadou Sarr’s loan deal there. Now, it looks like Barco could be heading to Stamford Bridge if the report is accurate.
So, it is very easy to see why Strasbourg fans are not happy with BlueCo. They have become a feeder club for Chelsea. Even though they have done well in the league under the new owners, there are not popular amongst the French club’s supporters.
I have followed Barco’s development since he was at Boca Juniors. And it has been impressive for sure. After he was not able to make the grade at Brighton & Hove Albion, things could have so easily gone south for him. But he has brought his career back on track at Strasbourg.
His transformation into a midfielder is not something that many would have seen coming. Barco has backed it up though with one goal and nine assists in 34 games this season.
Would he be the right choice for Chelsea? To be honest, after what we seen over the last four years, it is hard not to be sceptical. It has been a constant search for the next big thing. Rarely has it worked out.
