A five-year deal in Alsace
RC Strasbourg confirmed Omari Kellyman’s arrival this morning. The 20-year-old English attacking midfielder leaves Chelsea for good and has signed through June 2031. Five years on the contract sheet for a player who has never kicked a ball in Ligue 1.
“Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace are pleased to announce the arrival of Omari Kellyman. The English attacking midfielder has signed until 2031 from Chelsea FC,” the Alsace club said in its statement.
This is no one-off move. Strasbourg have been raiding the London club’s ranks regularly since the two sides came under the same ownership, BlueCo. In recent seasons, La Meinau has become a stage for young players from Stamford Bridge who could not force their way into Premier League plans.
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Eleven goals in League One
Kellyman’s record is worth a closer look. On loan at Cardiff City last season, he played 42 matches in all competitions, including 36 in League One, scoring 11 goals and adding 2 assists. Those are decent numbers in a brutal division where neat young midfielders often get swallowed up.
Before that, his path had all the makings of a prospect story. He spent 10 years in Derby County’s academy before joining Aston Villa in 2022 and making his senior debut at just 17, setting up a goal against Hibernian in the Conference League. Chelsea bought him in the summer of 2024 and never handed him a first-team chance.
What Strasbourg get out of it
The gamble is easy to read. Strasbourg have taken a player who has already survived a full season of senior football, at an age when plenty are still stuck in the reserves. The five-year contract says plenty too: this is not a stopgap signing.
There is still a gap to bridge. League One and Ligue 1 are not played at the same tempo, and they do not leave the same kind of room. Kellyman arrives with numbers. Now he has to find the rest.
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