BBC: Chilville joins Strasbourg, the sixth player to go from the Blues this summer

According to the BBC, Chelsea left-back Chilville joined Strasbourg and is the sixth player to transfer from Chelsea to Strasbourg this summer.

Chilville has two years left on the contract with Chelsea, but he has signed a new two-year contract with Strasbourg, a French club also owned by Burleigh and Clearlake Capital. The transfer helped avoid an extra unpopular player in head coach Maresca's roster, although it would be difficult for Chelsea to remove the highly paid player from their roster.

28-year-old Chilville decided to join the team after several reassuring conversations with Strasbourg's England coach Rosennier. Rosennier assured him that he will play a role in the team. In addition, Chilwell has the opportunity to be selected for the England national team to participate in the World Cup under the leadership of former Chelsea coach Tuchel, and he will also have the opportunity to play in the European Cup.

Chilville is the sixth player to transfer from Chelsea to Strasbourg this summer, with young players Mike Panders and Kendri Paes also joining the Blues-held Ligue 1 club on loan. Mamadu Sal permanently transferred to Chelsea in the early June transfer window, but returned to Strasbourg after participating in the Club World Cup.

In addition to three loan players, Strasbourg also signed Chelsea youth training camp defender Ish Smith for £6.5 million and midfielder Amogu for about £12 million.

However, on Tuesday, it was announced that 19-year-old Samuels Smith returned to Chelsea after joining Strasbourg for a month before immediately loaned to the Championship side Swansea for one season. The reason is that a series of events including Chilville's joining and defender Ismail Dookure's contract renewal have affected his development opportunities. In the end, the £6.5 million transfer fee was refunded.

FIFA's loan rules stipulate that a club cannot loan more than three players from the same club within a season, so for Chilville, only a permanent transfer is the possible option. However, as long as the transfer fee reflects fair market value, there is no law prohibiting Chelsea from selling players to Strasbourg.