Chelsea were grabbing the majority of headlines yet again over what was yet another hectic transfer window at Stamford Bridge, but one of their most surprising moves of the window came in the form of a transfer U-turn over young defender Ishe Samuels-Smith.
Back in July, Enzo Maresca’s side agreed a deal worth around £6.5 million to sell the 19-year-old to sister club Strasbourg, with Samuels-Smith agreeing terms on a five-year deal.
Joao Pedro
Noni Madueke
Jamie Gittens
João Félix
Jorrel Hato
Djordje Petrovic
Liam Delap
Lesley Ugochukwu
Dario Essugo
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Mamadou Sarr
Renato Veiga
Estevao
Armando Broja
Kendry Paez
Carney Chukwuemeka
Alejandro Garnacho
Mathis Amougou
Basir Humphreys
Kepa Arrizabalaga
Marcus Bettinelli
Christopher Nkunku
Nicolas Jackson
Alfie Gilchrist
Lucas Bergstrom
Ben Chilwell
That appeared to be that for the player, who left Chelsea two years after signing from Everton, without having made a single senior appearance.
However, in a turn of events nobody expected, it was announced on Tuesday morning that the teenager had re-joined Chelsea just 33 days after signing for Strasbourg, with Samuels-Smith also heading out on loan to Swansea City.
The Englishman never even got to make his debut across the channel, and is still waiting to make any form of professional debut at all, despite impressing with seven assists in 44 total appearances for Chelsea’s Under-21s.
Samuels-Smith will be desperate to get his first taste of senior action, and perhaps a move to the Swansea.com stadium could provide exactly that for the promising youth international.
Transfer sagas like this are extremely rare at the best of times, and it highlights how you can never rule anything out when it comes to the Blues’ recruitment policy.
The question on supporters’ minds, though, is why instigate a return for Samuels-Smith at all?
Why Chelsea re-signed Samuels-Smith with Tyler Dibling comparison made
As per BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella, Chelsea re-signed Samuels-Smith for a multitude of reasons.
Firstly, Ismael Doukoure’s decision to commit his future to Strasbourg was likely to limit his game time, with the youngster also facing stiff competition from Ben Chilwell who’s also just joined them.
Samuels-Smith is also deemed an “important” player by BlueCo, so the call to bring him back and agree a Championship loan was seen as the best option to further his development.
There is a “similarity” in his case with that of Tyler Dibling as well, who Chelsea let return to Southampton partly due to homesickness and were basically refunded the transfer fee they paid in 2022.
It was a strategic move by BlueCo, who were thankful to have included a buy-back clause in the deal which saw Samuels-Smith join Strasbourg, so the process to bring him back to west London was relatively straightforward.