Why Chelsea could regret selling this exciting young talent
Chelsea’s BlueCo era has been defined by the recruitment of vast numbers of young players, many of whom remain years away from being ready for the demands of Premier League football.
Many of the players purchased in the early BlueCo days made few appearances here and there, whether in pre-season or actual competitive fixtures, and then were moved on for a profit. That sums up the likes of David Datro Fofana's and Deivid Washington's time at Chelsea. But one former Chelsea youngster is now making a big name for himself, and Chelsea may actually regret selling him despite an €8.5 million profit.
Chelsea recruited Diego Moreira to west London on a free transfer in the summer of 2023, joining from Benfica's reserve side. He spent his first season under contract at Chelsea on loan in France with Lyon before being sold to Strasbourg in summer 2024.
At Strasbourg, he broke out to the tune of six goals and 13 assists across two seasons. In his first season, he was primarily deployed as a left wing-back under Liam Rosenior. In his second season, once Rosenior left for Chelsea, Moreira was deployed in a more traditional right-winger role under new manager Gary O'Neil.
He earned himself a move to AC Milan this summer, where he already has three goals in four league appearances, just two of them being starts. Although Chelsea are not short on goalscoring between João Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, he could still certainly do a job for Chelsea.
He has shown the flexibility to produce on both the left and right flank, as well as in a deeper wing-back role focused less on attacking output and more on ball progression. Playing under a tactically flexible manager, he could operate in a few different roles. So how would he stack up against Chelsea's current options?
In a wing-back role, he has already shown considerable attacking impetus, registering two goals and seven assists in 32 Ligue 1 appearances during his first season at Strasbourg. His nine goal contributions amounted to 0.32 per 90 minutes, an impressive return for a player primarily operating as a left wing-back.
In terms of progressing the ball, that is something he excelled at when deployed as a left wing-back at Strasbourg. Moreira is an excellent dribbler who is capable of taking on his man and beating him. During the 2024–25 Ligue 1 season, he averaged 3.47 progressive carries and 2 successful take-ons per 90 minutes, completing 45.6% of his attempted take-ons.
It is a skill which is invaluable in build-up play. His ability to beat his man can also be equally important against teams who sit in a low block. He could certainly be useful at Chelsea, so should the Blues regret selling him?
In all likelihood, he would not have gotten the necessary game time he needed to develop had he not been sold to Strasbourg. It is easy to look at the way he is playing for AC Milan right now and say Chelsea should have kept him.
But it is hard to envision a world where his development would've occurred at a similar rate had he not left. He got the opportunity to have regular game time in one of Europe's top five leagues, where he was an important part of the team.
Chelsea fans only need to look as far as Quenda and Estêvão as evidence of talented young players not always getting enough minutes on the pitch to develop optimally.
