Chelsea are set to sign Argentina midfielder Valentin Barco from sister club Strasbourg this summer.
However, given the link between Chelsea and Strasbourg, there has been a lot of scrutiny surrounding transactions between the two outfits, who are both owned by BlueCo.
UEFA have measures in place, though, to prevent Chelsea and Strasbourg and other clubs who have the same owners from inflating transfer fees.
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UEFA won’t allow Valentin Barco deal to be inflated
It is not quite clear yet how much Chelsea will be paying Strasbourg to sign Barco in this transfer window.
However, financial expert Adam Williams has explained to The Chelsea Chronicle the fair value process that will take place to prevent any inflation or deflation of Barco’s fee that could unfairly help Chelsea or Strasbourg to stay in line with UEFA’s SCR (Squad Cost Ratio) regulations.
On Barco’s imminent switch to Stamford Bridge, he said: “For the selling club, UEFA revise up or down the value of transactions between clubs under the same ownership umbrella for SCR purposes.
“It’s an independent third party that makes that assessment, so there’s no way for either Chelsea or Strasbourg to artificially inflate the value of deals between the two clubs in order to help one or the other out with their respective UEFA settlements, or indeed the equivalent financial rules domestically.
“I suspect, whatever the final fee is, BlueCo will see it as a fair valuation and use it to get some cash into Strasbourg without compromising the capital structure through a share issue or giving the club ‘soft loans’, which are low or no-interest but are ascribed a nominal fair market value rate by UEFA for the purposes of their Football Earnings rule.
“So there might be an element of gaming the system here with regards to SCR, but it is probably about BlueCo funding Strasbourg’s cash demands — for paying players, bills, keeping up with transfer instalments — in the most efficient way rather than diddling the value of the transaction for Barco himself. So the benefit is for Strasbourg, not Chelsea.
“As always, however, Chelsea’s transfer business and their strategy under BlueCo is a hall of mirrors. So let’s see what the final deal looks like.”
So far this summer, Chelsea’s transfer window has been about exits. They recently sold Andrey Santos to Manchester United, while Marc Cucurella has joined Real Madrid.
Santos could have a more attacking role at United, but just playing will be the most important thing to him after being a bit-part player last season.
How Xabi Alonso could use Valentin Barco once he gets his hands on him
It will be interesting to see how Xabi Alonso uses Barco once he officially arrives at Stamford Bridge.
Barco mainly played as a midfielder last season, but he can also play as a left-back. He could start there or in the left wing-back role if Alonso decides to use five at the back.
Chelsea need to address the left-back position after selling Cucurella to Real Madrid. Jorrel Hato can play there and deserves a real opportunity in the first team after how he finished the previous campaign.
The Dutchman alone will not be enough, though, so Barco or Marco Palestra could provide cover if Chelsea do not sign another specialist left-back.
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