According to Metro, Chelsea second team have secured the signing of Rennes right-back Guela Doue, beating Roma to the deal. Doue joined Strasbourg directly and not sign by Chelsea.
The Blues have been active in the transfer market as they look to revitalize under new manager Enzo Maresca. New arrivals include Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Guiu, Caleb Wiley, Renato Veiga, Omari Kellyman, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Chelsea is also closing in on a deal for Villarreal goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen, who is expected to join as competition for Robert Sanchez.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Doue’s transfer has largely flown under the radar. The 21-year-old will join Chelsea for approximately €7 million (£5.9 million) plus €2 million (£1.7 million) in bonuses. However, Doue joined Strasbourg for the upcoming season to gain regular first-team experience.
The versatile Ivory Coast international, capable of playing as a right-back, centre-back, or defensive midfielder, had attracted interest from Roma after turning down a new contract offer from Rennes earlier this summer. With just one year left on his contract, Rennes decided to sell Doue rather than risk losing him for free next year.
Doue joined Rennes at the age of eight and progressed through their academy. He made his senior debut as a substitute in a 3-0 win over Strasbourg in February 2023. He has since made 35 appearances in Ligue 1 and earned two caps for the Ivory Coast national team.
Doue's older brother, Desire, also plays for Rennes, while his cousins Yann Gboho and Marc-Olivier Doue play for Toulouse and Eldense, respectively.
After Chelsea’s pre-season draw with Wrexham, Maresca commented on the transfer market, stating, ‘When the transfer window is open, anything can happen for us and for the rest.’
Regarding Chelsea’s interest in Jorgensen, Maresca said, ‘We’ll see, we’ll see. At the moment, we have four goalkeepers. [Dorde] Petrovic is still with us but injured. We will see with the timing. What I can say is Robert [Sanchez] did very well tonight and has done very well since we started. For sure, the way we want to play, the goalkeeper is very, very important—one of the main positions. And I don’t want to talk about players that are not Chelsea players, but I am very happy with Robert.’
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