The one flaw in Chelsea’s “pre-agreement” for rising striker who Romano says could join in 2026 | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano dropped a nice piece of transfer news last night when he noted that Emanuel Emegha of Strasbourg is a major target for Chelsea, who are looking to sign a “pre agreement” with the forward to arrive next summer.

The French club have made it clear there’s “no chance” their Dutch forward leaves this summer as he’s a “key part of the project” after our sister club qualified for the Europa League.

22 year old Emegha the latest Strasbourg star with a Blue future

Fabrizio Romano on Emanuel Emegha coming to Chelsea in 2026.

The 22 year old has had an impressive season and looks to keep getting better and better. We’re big fans of his, and this bid blocks the numerous other Premier League teams who seem interested in Emegha from trying to secure him themselves.

What’s curious about this is that Chelsea need a striker right now. That’s the only question mark over this deal

Emegha 2026 not ideal given Chelsea’s striker need

The habit of signing players to arrive in the future isn’t something we’re necessarily against – in many cases it works well, when the player needs to develop more and Chelsea’s need isn’t pressing. It is effectively loaning them to somewhere they’re already settled and comfortable. In the recent cases of Estevao Willian and Geovany Quenda, it’s working out great.

But when a player plays in a position we need right now, and already looks good enough to contribute, it’s a less clear cut option. Either we sign a striker this summer and Emegha arrives and ends up being third in the queue behind Nicolas Jackson and the new man, or we don’t sign a striker this summer and we spend next season waiting for Emegha and asking why he wasn’t signed to arrive right away.

Neither is an ideal setup.