Chelsea transfer backlash takes new twist as true colours shown - 'He's our captain!'

Liam Rosenior has leapt to the defence of Emanuel Emegha following Strasbourg's 3-2 win over Paris FC. The 22-year-old striker, who will join Chelsea at the end of the season, fired the French outfit to victory at the Stade Jean-Bouin on Sunday afternoon.

Emegha marked his return from injury with a goal, finding space at the back post to give Strasbourg some much-needed breathing space. After a lengthy review by the Video Assistant Referee, the Netherlands Under-21 international took off his shirt and held it up – name and number showing – to the travelling fans.

During his spell on the sidelines, Emegha jetted off to the United Kingdom to pen a long-term deal with the Blues. football.london understands that Chelsea had been closely monitoring the Dutchman's development before they secured his signature.

Emegha, who was handed the captain's armband by Rosenior at the start of the season, will join the Blues in the summer. It's understood that the west London outfit will then make a decision on his future.

The announcement earlier this month didn't go down very well with sections of the Strasbourg fanbase. So, when Emegha returned to action at the weekend, he was given a hostile reception – hence his bold celebration.

Supporters made sure their voices were heard ahead of the game. During last weekend's clash against Le Havre, they erected a banner to oppose their president and their skipper, who was left distraught.

"I don't think he was affected by this situation," said Rosenior, as quoted by L’Equipe. "Yes, he was angry after Le Havre. But he's worked really well these last few days.

"He even gathered the players together to give a little speech. There's no problem with Emegha. 99% of the fans are great, the rest is non-existent for me. We'll always work our hardest for the club, even if some want us to fail."

Abdoul Ouattara also publicly supported Emegha. The Strasbourg midfielder said: "We'll always be with him, he's our captain. He had a great week."

Marc Keller leapt to Emegha's defence in an emergency press conference earlier this month. The Strasbourg chief thanked BlueCo, the parent company that also owns Chelsea, for bringing the exciting young striker to the Stade de la Meinau, insisting that he'll remain captain.

"Something happened that I couldn't have imagined," said the club's president. "I saw a minority of people in the West Stand attacking the institution, the project, and our captain. It's unacceptable; these are not our values. Attacking our captain is not right.

"The fans support us. We used to communicate a lot, including in the National League. But that's changed over the past two years; it's sad. And what happened on Sunday no longer respects our club's rules; we don't accept it.

"We were able to bring him in thanks to BlueCo two years ago; many big clubs approached us this summer. Our priority is to keep our striker and leader. We found the best balance with this agreement, which allows us to keep the player, then let him leave for Chelsea in a year."

Despite trying to calm tensions, Keller's comments only added fuel to the fire. Emegha will be hoping his goal against Paris FC at the weekend was enough to win over the Strasbourg ultras.

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