Brazilian striker Angelo Gabriel, tracked by Lyon but eventually bought by Chelsea, has joined Strasbourg, brother club of the Blues, in the form of a one-year loan, the Alsatian club announced on its website on Tuesday. The 19-year-old right winger will have his first experience in Europe, after his transfer to England in July from his training club Santos. He had participated in the United States tour of Mauricio Pochettino’s team.
He arrives in Strasbourg preceded by a flattering reputation after having broken all precocity records with the formation of the State of São Paulo: youngest player to play with Santos for 60 years, youngest player to play in the Copa Libertadores (16 years 2 mis and 16 days) and youngest scorer in continental competition. “He is a very good youngster, who has already played a lot at the highest level in his country. We had already seen him two years ago in Brazil and we are happy to welcome him. I am delighted that this operation is now possible thanks to BlueCo”, reacted the president of Racing Marc Keller, referring to the American consortium that owns Chelsea and Strasbourg.
His new number 23 said he was “very motivated by this challenge”. “My goal is to help the team get to the top. I am also happy to discover French football, which is one of the most famous in the world, with a style of play that I like and which suits me well,” he added. The Brazilian could be part of the Alsatian group which will face Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday (8:45 p.m.) for the first day of Ligue 1.
Angelo Gabriel, followed by Racing since 2021 but considered inaccessible, has moved into the radius of “feasible” players since the arrival of new investors. “In our reports, (he) was not in the players for Strasbourg. He was in a category clearly above”, had confided Marc Keller on July 3 in a press conference, specifying that there is “no agreement for specific players” between the two brother clubs.