The move represents an exciting opportunity for Coelho to move into senior football and follows an impressive debut season in west London, during which he made an excellent impression both on and off the pitch.

Coelho guided our young Blues to a third-place finish in Premier League 2 last season before a quarter-final exit in the play-offs. There were also a number of men’s team debutants from the Under-21s group throughout 2024/25, including Tyrique George, Shumaira Mheuka, Kiano Dyer, Harrison Murray-Campbell, Genesis Antwi and Ato Ampah.

The 40-year-old joined Chelsea after a successful season as Under-23s head coach at Estoril, in which the Portuguese side topped the Under-23 Liga Revelacao table. He had previously worked in Benfica’s highly-respected academy, joining the club’s youth set-up in 2006 and working his way up from assistant coach of the Under-14s to being named their Under-19s head coach ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Under the guidance of head coach Liam Rosenior, RC Strasbourg finished seventh in Ligue 1 last term, securing a place in the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League.

Academy Technical Director Glenn van der Kraan said: ‘Despite his time with us lasting just over a year, Filipe has made an important impact on our programme, influencing our football identity, enforcing the highest of standards and performing at the highest level every single day.

‘This is a fantastic opportunity for Filipe to continue his coaching journey and we look forward to seeing where that takes him in the future.’

Academy Football Operations Director Jack Francis said: ‘The Chelsea Academy environment is built on the foundations of development and we pride ourselves on producing not just players of the future, but also staff.

‘This culture of excellence is essential in driving our performance year after year and we are delighted that Filipe now continues that trend. He has been a pleasure to work with for the past year and we wish him all the success in this exciting next chapter.’

Calum McFarlane will step into the role of Under-21s head coach following his recent arrival from Southampton, supported by former Chelsea Academy players Andy Ross and James Simmonds.