Chelsea face yet another nightmare scenario as UEFA ‘confirm’ loophole may be closed next season

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Chelsea’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season took a big hit when they were helf to a 2-2 draw with Ipswich Town at Stamford Bridge.

The result saw the Blues drop out of the top five, and Newcastle’s dominant win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday saw their strong goal difference scenario impacted too.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
3	NewcastleNewcastle	32	18	5	9	61	40	21	59
4	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	32	17	6	9	51	38	13	57
5	Man CityManchester City	32	16	7	9	62	42	20	55
6	ChelseaChelsea	32	15	9	8	56	39	17	54
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	32	15	9	8	49	46	3	54
8	B’mouthBournemouth	32	13	9	10	52	40	12	48
9	FulhamFulham	32	13	9	10	47	43	4	48

After hopefully getting the job done without any real worries in the Conference League in the second leg of the quarter-finals against Legia Warsaw, they will be hopeful that the final six Premier League games of the season can see them pull out some huge results.

While five teams will play Champions League football from England, there will be another two who qualify for the Europa League, a competition Chelsea would have been playing in this season had it not been for Manchester United’s FA Cup victory.

Sixth in the table is exactly where fellow BlueCo club Strasbourg currently find themselves in the Ligue 1 table, who despite having resentment for the owners are actually in an incredibly strong position.

Chelsea’s Strasbourg loophole ‘confirmed’ to be closed if both sides play in same UEFA competition

They sit level on points with fifth placed Lille, and are the form side in the division other than runaway leaders PSG.

Chelsea loanees Andrey Santos and Djordje Petrovic have stepped up to become two of the best players in their position across Europe, with them both potentially being part of the Blues’ first team squad next season.

Chelsea have benefitted from being able to loan some of their more promising talents to the French side under their umbrella. However, this could be about to be put on hold based on how both the sides are doing.

According to the Mail Online, UEFA have confirmed to the owners that they will not be able to engage in any player trading if both clubs are featuring in the same European competition.

Potential Chelsea deals affected if Strasbourg loophole closed

Chelsea have already agreed a deal for Mamadou Sarr, a promising young defender who has established himself as a regular at Strasbourg.

While this signing is likely not to be impacted, any efforts to sign transfer target Emanuel Emegha could become impossible.

Any loans to the Ligue 1 side would not be possible though. There has already been talk of Kendry Paez potentially joining Strasbourg for the upcoming campaign.

Paez is training with the French side to get him accustomed to European football, with there plenty of hope that he can quickly become a contributor for the Chelsea first team.