Chelsea loanee Victorien Angban set to sign for Metz after securing Ligue 1 promotion

Victorien Angban, who signed for Chelsea in 2015 after three years as a long-term trialist (akin to Bertrand Traoré), will move on to FC Metz in France after they sealed promotion to Ligue 1. Angban’s loan agreement mandated the activation of a £6m purchase clause — a record transfer fee for the second division club — in the event of promotion.

Angban, who never came close to featuring for Chelsea but would not be surprising if he were named in the transfer ban proceedings, played 64 minutes in Metz’s 2-1 win over Red Star on Friday, which sealed automatic promotion, and has featured regularly throughout the season, making 24 starts in all competitions.

Previously, the 22-year-old spent two seasons playing in the Belgian Pro League A (for Sint-Truiden VV and Waasland-Beveren) with an unsuccessful, yet quite eventful spell at Granada in between, which saw him play under four different managers, including Tony Adams, and even line up against Real Madrid.

Now also part of the Côte d’Ivoire national team set-up, the central midfielder will be looking to push on with his career. There are few better places to do so than Ligue 1.

Good luck, Victorien!