Strasbourg president lifts lid on transfer mystery of Chelsea star

STRASBOURG president Marc Keller has lifted the lid on one of the most baffling transfers of the summer.

After Chelsea paid £4million to secure the highly-rated left back from Everton in 2023, Ishe Samuels-Smith joined Strasbourg, who are also owned by Todd Boehly's BlueCo group, at the end of July in a deal worth £6.5m.

He featured on their bench twice, against Metz in Ligue 1 and in the Conference League, before Chelsea 'signed him back' 33 days later and immediately sent him on loan to Championship side Swansea.

The move was finalised late on Monday, helped by a deal sheet that gives clubs two extra hours to complete transfers.

Tensions were already running high between Strasbourg fans and their BlueCo owners, but came to the fore when they faced off against Le Havre in Ligue 1 last weekend.

Club captain Emanuel Emegha, who has agreed to join Chelsea in 2026, was subject to boos and banners protesting against him.

But he wasn't the only player involved in a deal that angered fans, as Samuels-Smith also had his name on a banner at the Stade De Meinau.

The furious banners added: "Samuels-Smith bought for 10 times his value, left 34 days later for an undisclosed amount."

"They really take us for fools."

The club president was also targeted by a banner reading: "Marc Keller, thank you for this golden decade. It's time to GO AWAY!"

Rising tensions prompted the president to stage a press conference and address the matters, including the Ultras' behaviour towards Emegha, BlueCo and Samuels-Smith.

Keller said: “BlueCo's investments far exceed their promises. There's a bit of jealousy in French football. But that's rather a good sign. Everyone chooses the most suitable path to progress.

“The club is now bigger than me, them (the Ultras) and everyone else. If we're not behind the club, it's better not to come. Let's be behind our players, our coach and the club's project.

“After a few weeks, we realised it would be difficult to get Samuels-Smith playing. The staff, Chelsea, and the player... we decided that an intermediate step was needed. The transfer was cancelled. There were no fund movements between the clubs”.

The French club ended up signing another unwanted Chelsea left-back, Ben Chilwell, before the window closed, who kept a clean sheet on his debut vs Le Havre.

Meanwhile, Samuels-Smith starred for Swansea in their 3-2 victory over Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup last night.