New Chelsea signing already training with Maresca’s squad

Senegalese wonderkid Yaya Dieme is already training with Chelsea ahead of a January 2026 move to Strasbourg.

It has been Chelsea’s transfer policy to snap up the brightest prospects in world football since being taken over by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in 2022.

Since that acquisition, BlueCo have added Ligue 1 side Strasbourg to their portfolio of clubs and they have implemented much the same business practices in Alsace.

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A host of players have moved between the two affiliated sides recently, although most have been loans from Chelsea. However, that is bound to change when Mamadou Sarr makes the move from France to England in the summer.

Senegalese midfielder Pape Diong, meanwhile, was initially supposed to sign for Chelsea, but he ultimately joined Strasbourg last summer after a change of plans. It has now been revealed that he will be joined by compatriot Yaya Dieme next year.

Dieme joins BlueCo

Senegalese publication Taggat reports that 17-year-old Dieme will join the Ligue 1 side from Diambars FC when he turns 18 next January. Intriguingly, the teenager will spend the rest of 2025 moving between Chelsea and Strasbourg and training with the respective teams.

BlueCo are keen to ensure that his integration into European football will be smooth, so they are already letting him get a feel for the facilities in London and France.

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Dieme has agreed a four-and-a-half-year contract with BlueCo, or rather Strasbourg. However, he has clearly been earmarked as a player who could go on to play for Chelsea in the future.

He has already been pictured at the Blues’ Cobham training ground where he is embarking on his first of several training courses. Dieme is a winger by trade and featured for the exciting Senegal U17 team that caught the attention of European scouts at the 2023 World Cup in Indonesia.