Chelsea have at least one loan move looking better by the week. Dário Essugo scored his first goal for Strasbourg in a 2-1 defeat away at Nice, with the strike coming in the 41st minute. It was also his first league start for the French club, and the early returns are hard to ignore.

Essugo’s role at Strasbourg

Essugo has 4 appearances, 168 minutes, 1 goal and 1 assist this season for Strasbourg. Across his last 4 league appearances, he has contributed both end product and control, which is a decent start for a midfielder who is still settling into a new role.

He told football.london that Hugo Oliveira wants him to play as a more advanced No. 8. "He wants me to be myself. He wants me to play as more of a No.8, and that's good for me because I can get in the box more," Essugo said. "It's a new thing for me, but I can drive the ball more and help the team in defence."

The move has given him a clearer route into games. Essugo also said: "I want to play but not to show [anything] to anyone else. I just want to focus on myself and help Strasbourg to improve and win games."

Chelsea’s loanee picture across Europe

The weekend was more uneven elsewhere. Benoît Badiashile made his first start for Napoli in a 3-0 victory over Frosinone, while Alejandro Garnacho was an unused substitute again for Aston Villa in a 2-2 draw at home to Brentford.

Garnacho has not appeared in a top-flight game since his 15-minute cameo against Hull City on September 5, so the loan has not yet moved in the same direction. Napoli have an option to buy Badiashile for £23million next summer, which is a separate story, but it is another reminder that Chelsea’s loan group is splitting into very different lanes.

Strasbourg are 11th in Ligue 1 with 7 points from 6 games, so Essugo is not being eased into a settled front-running side. Even so, the combination of his first goal, his first league start and his early output gives Chelsea a genuine reason to pay attention when Strasbourg face their next run of fixtures.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →