The Argentine National Team is attentive because a new competitor appears in the history of Valentín Barco at the club level. Chelsea wants him, there is another giant team interested and the future of the former Boca Juniors is exciting and generates a lot of expectations.
Valentín Barco grew a lot on a physical and competitive level at Racing de Strasbourg. Today he is reaching a differential level compared to the majority of his colleagues in France. Strasbourg was precisely the club that helped him adapt to Europe, thanks to Luis Enrique (Luis Rosenior in the transcript), the coach who now directs Chelsea. And of course, when Rosenior went to the Enzo Fernández y Garnacho entity, he did not take long to ask for it: “I want Valentín Barco again.”
It seems that Chelsea is going to go all out for him. There shouldn’t be too much problem in the operation, because Racing de Strasbourg and Chelsea belong to the same business group. We have already seen similar cases: Andrés Santos, the coach himself… Strasbourg functions as a talent repository of sorts for Chelsea. When they love someone, they bring it without complications.
But there is something more important in this whole story: Valentín is having a spectacular time in Strasbourg. His current level greatly increases his chances of going to the very final and, above all, to the 2026 World Cup. He is an omnipresent player.
Boat and Rosenior. (Photo: Getty).
If you look at their heat map in the French league, it appears red practically on the entire field, except for the two areas. He averages almost 75 touches per game, he is one of those who causes the most fouls while driving (according to Opta), and his numbers in progression with the ball and passes are among the best in the competition.
Although his passing success rate is around 86%, it is not because he is conservative: he risks a lot. Generate between 20 and 22 passes in the opposite field per game. Look for crosses for Panichelli, balls for the forwards, filtered passes, walls between the lines… always trying to break defenses.
And all this in a very physical league, one of the most competitive in Europe in that regard. That was precisely the big question when he left Argentina: “He is not prepared for European football.” It was difficult for him, he went through several rejections, until he landed in Strasbourg. There Luis Rosenior molded him, accommodated him and today we have a much more mature footballer, even a father, with clear World Cup aspirations.
The Argentines took over Racing de Estasburgo
In the current squad he shares a dressing room with several high-level South Americans: Anselmino (former Boca, with a past at Borussia Dortmund and now on loan from Chelsea), Panichelli, Enciso… There is a very good camaraderie between them. And of the Argentinians, three have real chances with the national team:
- Ship already summoned and growing
- Panichelli fighting to be the third 9 (competing with José López)
- Anselmino thinking more about the future
Does Valentin already have the quality, maturity, physique and personality to be the natural replacement for Rodrigo De Paul? Because today, it is that: the footballer who most resembles De Paul in characteristics and that for the first time puts real pressure on an emblem of the national team. Palacios, after his injury, failed to be a differential with Argentina (although he did in Bayer Leverkusen).
Multifunctionality
Barco, on the other hand, is about to settle permanently in the group for 2026. And a no small plus: he can perform in several positions. He has been a left back, a left midfielder, a more advanced midfielder… and today he plays exactly in the De Paul area.
