Brighton have negotiated a deal for Julio Enciso, but final destination remains unclear between Chelsea and Racing Club Strasbourg because both clubs are owned by BlueCo. Media confusion and deal-structure ambiguity contribute to uncertainty, and Brighton may not know which BlueCo club will receive the player. The situation echoes established practices in which clubs sign players and immediately loan them to sister clubs or trusted partners. Historical examples include Manchester United sending prospects to Royal Antwerp in the 1990s and 2000s to gain playing time and assist with EU work-permit rules, such as Dong Fangzhou's move to Antwerp after joining United.
Negotiations have taken place. A deal is almost done. Julio Enciso looks like he's leaving Brighton. That much is clear. The question nobody seems to have a straight answer for is which club he's actually joining. If you need bringing up to speed: Brighton have been in negotiations with BlueCo, the company that owns Chelsea and Racing Club Strasbourg. But according to reports, even Brighton themselves are not entirely sure which club Enciso will actually be going to.
Well in practical terms, mostly no. In many ways, there is nothing entirely new about this. It is partly media confusion about the structure of the deal and Chelsea's/BlueCo's intentions that make the Enciso deal seem so notable, but there are plenty of examples of clubs signing players and then farming them straight out to a sister club. Even in the days before multi-club ownership was common, clubs would have trusted homes for their young prospects.
Manchester United, for instance, started sending their prospects to Royal Antwerp in the 1990s and continued to do so into the 2000s, with the likes of Fraizer Campbell, Jonny Evans, Tom Heaton and John O'Shea all spending time on loan with the Belgian club. As any Football Manager player knows, those loans could also be a way to help a player get an EU work permit: Dong Fangzhou went straight to Antwerp after joining United in 2004 for that reason.
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