You win some, you lose some – that is the mentality Chelsea seems to be operating with as they work to sign as many of the best young talents in football in their bid to become the biggest talent bank in world football for financial and sporting reasons.
French defender Malang Sarr looks to be one of the losses that the club are ready to accept as his time as a Chelsea-registered player looks to be coming to an end.
Sarr joined the club in the summer transfer window of the 2020/21 season from his hometown club OGC Nice. He was 21 at the time and was regarded as one of the world’s most promising young defenders at that time. Sarr, however, never got the chance to show what he could do to the fans at Stamford Bridge and was sent on loan to Porto. In the only season he spent at the club, he would make only eight league appearances (21 in all competitions) before being sent on another loan, this time to AS Monaco.
It was there that his career took a turn for the worse.
After a good season back in his home country with the Principality club where he was able to make 13 league appearances, he was caught in the middle of a bureaucratic issue between both clubs and was forced to spend the 2023/24 season with Chelsea’s U-21s.
His time in limbo is now over with Chelsea having agreed to a transfer deal with RC Lens for Sarr, now 25. The Frenchman will sign with Lens for two years.
The Sun even reports that Chelsea are terminating Sarr’s contract just to let him go to Lens. A medical is expected to happen in the next 48 hours. No further specifics have been provided outside these two. This means there is no information on whether Chelsea will request a fee from the French side, although they would be wrong to after choosing to terminate his contract for the move to happen.
The Blues’ spending and player acquisition has previously been berated by former Manchester United striker Louis Saha. “From the start of the season I never understood the strategy behind Chelsea’s signings – it was ridiculous,” he said in an interview with Paddy Power last December.
“You could put any manager in there and I doubt that he will manage those young players well. ”
“The structure is really hard to find – it seems like they don’t know each other, especially when playing at Manchester United – there was quality, but no links between players.”
“This is why they are struggling – they can impress and be frustrating, they are good players but there is no strategy behind it.”
