Sports Mole takes a took at the rise to prominence of Strasbourg forward Joaquin Panichelli, who has gone from unknown quantity to a plausible future Chelsea signing.
Chelsea and Strasbourg recently caused tension at Stade de la Meinau with the announcement that Emanuel Emegha had agreed to switch between the two BlueCo-owned clubs at some point in 2026.
Sections of Strasbourg's fanbase are now frequently jeering the club captain ahead of his eventual move to Stamford Bridge, friction that initially started once BlueCo purchased the French side and effectively rendered them their sister club.
With Chelsea loanees Mike Penders, Mamadou Sarr and Kendry Paez flourishing in Ligue 1, Strasbourg are reaping the benefits, but their fans are waiting for the world champions to identify another star performer as their next signing.
In just nine matches, Joaquin Panichelli has catapulted himself towards the top of that list by making an instant impact since his €20m (£17.4m) transfer during the summer.
Here, Sports Mole assesses whether Panichelli has any genuine hope of eventually moving to the Premier League club.
Who is Joaquin Panichelli?
Up until January 2023, European football fans could have been forgiven for not knowing that Panichelli existed after he failed to earn a youth deal at Boca Juniors after a trial period.
River Plate eventually signed him as a 17-year-old in February 2020, but Panichelli would never play a single first-team fixture for the Argentine giants. Instead, he was reduced to 12 appearances for River Plate II.
When January 2023 came round, it was Spanish side Alaves who were prepared to take a risk on a player who had no Argentina youth caps under his belt, offering him a threeand-a-half-year contract.
Even with Alaves in the Segunda Division, Panichelli played much of his football in the second string until he earned La Liga experience on the back of their promotion for 2023-24.
A cruciate ligament injury wiped out much of his season, but he concluded it with a 77-minute outing - his eighth top-flight appearance that season - in a 1-1 draw at Las Palmas.
Nevertheless, it was not enough to convince Alaves to keep him in their squad. Panichelli was loaned to second-tier Mirandes where he kick-started his career.
What is Panichelli's goal record?
Prior to moving to Mirandes, Panichelli had racked up just 266 minutes of first-team football spread across 12 appearances, failing to contribute a goal or assist.
During the stint with Mirandes, he chipped in with an outstanding 21 goals and eight assists from 44 matches, only scoring twice on three occasions to emphasise his consistency.
Strasbourg saw something in Panichelli to encourage them to spend approximately £17.4m on his services, and they are currently getting their reward with Panichelli emerging as one of the star performers in the 2025-26 Ligue 1.
Five goals have been scored in six starts and one substitute outing, four of them coming in wins over Metz, Le Havre and Angers. Panichelli also netted in a 3-2 away defeat at Monaco.
His performances are generally keeping Chelsea-bound Emegha out of the team, and it inevitably throws up the possibility of a future transfer to Stamford Bridge.
Could Chelsea look to sign Panichelli?
Enzo Maresca currently has Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Marc Guiu as his centre-forward options, the former the only one that can be viewed as a secure member of the senior squad.
Delap will need to prove himself on his return from a hamstring injury, his £30m price-tag leaving him vulnerable to a sale for a profit if Chelsea chiefs deem that he does not fit their standards.
The same applies to Guiu, who was signed from Barcelona for around £5m, while Emegha is seemingly in line for an opportunity under Maresca at some point.
Chelsea officials are likely to assess outside options when considering whether to delve back into the transfer market for a new number nine unless Panichelli gives them a reason to turn to him.
His first target will be continuing to score regularly for Strasbourg and guide them to the Conference League trophy, and a first Argentina call-up could follow if that proves to be the case.
At over 6ft 2ins, his physicality could play into his favour when Chelsea contemplate an in-house promotion, but at the age of 23 and with just 754 minutes of top-flight action under his belt, it would make sense for Panichelli to spend at least two seasons at Strasbourg before providing him with a higher platform.
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Darren Plant