Juventus, RB Leipzig, and Villarreal were all interested in Samir El Mourabet, a 20-year-old Moroccan and French midfielder who is expected to remain at Strasbourg. Chelsea's owner, Behdad Eghbali, vetoed the sale, leading Strasbourg to now view the player as intransferable. It is reported that this decision is motivated by a plan for El Mourabet to continue his development within the BlueCo network, which is the consortium that owns both Strasbourg and Chelsea. El Mourabet joined the club in July 2025 and has a contract until 2030. He has 9 caps for Morocco. Transfermarkt estimates his current market value to be €22.00m.