Snak

Chelsea are reportedly set to sign Strasbourg defender Mamadou Sarr for a fee of €20 million.

Chelsea agree deal to sign player for €20m – Personal terms agreement also in place

The France U20 centre-back joined Strasbourg from Olympique Lyon for €10m in August and he has played a key role under Liam Rosenior so far this season.

Sarr has started 12 Ligue 1 matches for the BlueCo-owned club this campaign and he is considered to be one of France’s top defensive prospects.

The 19-year-old has now reached an agreement over a long-term contract at Chelsea, according to RMC Sport reporter Fabrice Hawkins, with Sarr set to be loaned straight back to Strasbourg for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

Chelsea purchased Strasbourg in 2023, and they have sent Andrey Santos, Caleb Wiley and Djordje Petrovic on loan to the Ligue 1 club this year.

However, one of those three stars must be recalled by Chelsea if they decide to purchase Sarr and loan him back to Strasbourg. That is because FIFA rules state that teams are only allowed to send a maximum of three players on loan to the same club at any given time in one season.

Santos and Petrovic have both played key roles for Strasbourg this campaign, but Wiley has only made six appearances for the club and he is currently sidelined through injury.

Chelsea transfer news: Andrey Santos, Lesley Ugochukwu loan verdict given by Enzo Maresca

Ahead of Monday´s Premier League fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Maresca has revealed that Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez have emerged as fitness doubts.

That inevitably led to the Chelsea boss being questioned over the possibility of recalling Santos or Ugochukwu from their respective loan stints at Strasbourg and Southampton respectively.

However, as quoted by the Daily Mail, Maresca has insisted that it is currently not under consideration, saying: "No, because we don´t know if it´s a problem for Enzo or Lavia, just that we don´t know if they´ll play against Wolves."

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