{"id":563627,"date":"2020-08-26T07:10:35","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T11:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=563627"},"modified":"2020-08-26T07:10:35","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T11:10:35","slug":"malang-sarr-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/08\/26\/malang-sarr-everything-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Malang Sarr: Everything You Need to Know About the Chelsea Target"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Malang Sarr arrive \u00e0 Chelsea… avant d’\u00eatre pr\u00eat\u00e9.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The French newspapers<\/a> were filled with this headline in the early hours of yesterday morning. “Malang Sarr<\/a> arrives at Chelsea<\/a>, but shall be loaned immediately” – something which created a new tremor in the transfer market. \u00a0Fabrizio Romano<\/a>\u00a0also confirmed Sarr’s imminent move to London.<\/p>\n

Sarr is an academy graduate from French club OGC Nice<\/a>. Despite being just 21, the centre-back has made over 100 appearances for his boyhood club which spreads out to three full seasons as a professional.<\/p>\n

But, in an interesting turn of events, the Frenchman decided to see out his current contract with the Ligue 1<\/a> club. Since June 2020, he has been a free agent with a bundle of interest coming in from French as well as foreign teams.<\/p>\n

Everything You Need to Know About Chelsea Bound Malang Sarr<\/h2>\n

The French Background<\/h3>\n

There was a lot of talk about Sarr choosing between Senegalese roots and French residency back in 2016. He was even approached by the Senegalese Football Association for a spot in the Under-18 side.<\/p>\n

The central defender chose to stick with the French youth team, however, with whom he had played in the Under-16 and Under-17 levels back in 2014. Sarr rightfully dreams about achieving great things with the French national side in the future.<\/p>\n

A move to Chelsea could benefit the youngster in his French ambitions, too. The current Blues’ squad boasts the likes of World Cup winning pair of N’Golo Kante<\/a> and Olivier Giroud<\/a>. Sarr can also have a healthy battle for a first team role with fellow Frenchman Kurt Zouma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How Does Malang Sarr Compare to the Current Chelsea Backline?<\/h3>\n

Malang Sarr had fairly less playing time last season. This was primarily because the Ligue 1 season was suspended early, in addition to a few injury problems which reduced his game time.<\/p>\n

The Frenchman does have some interesting statistics compared to the current crop of Chelsea defenders though. The 21-year-old stands just second to Antonio Rudiger<\/a> when it comes to progressive distance covered. The progressive distance covered denotes how much a player has progressed with the ball towards the opponent’s goal (in yards). It’s also an important metric when judging defenders in the modern game.<\/p>\n

Sarr travelled a progressive distance of 193 yards every 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season. This is only second to Antonio Rudiger in the Chelsea defence(202 yards). Whereas, the Frenchman topples the figures of Andreas Christensen<\/a> (170) and Kurt Zouma (165) by a mile.<\/p>\n

The ex-Nice centre-back also had a 90% passing success rate, which is better than Kurt Zouma’s (89%) and Antonio Rudiger’s (87%) figures from last season.<\/p>\n

Future With Chelsea<\/h3>\n

It is an interesting squad selection headache that Frank Lampard is going to face next season should Malang Sarr decide to join.<\/p>\n

Lampard’s camp currently boasts the likes of Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori<\/a> as the primary choice for a central role in the back-line. The London club is almost certain of bringing in Thiago Silva<\/a>, who is a free agent now after his long term stint with Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n

With all these heavyweights already vying for a first team role, it seems likely that Sarr could be loaned out by the Premier League<\/a> club upon his potential arrival. Nevertheless, Sarr has three full seasons under the age of 21 and tier one experience of French football.<\/p>\n

A season-long loan and Sarr could transform himself into the new face of the Chelsea’s defensive line in the future should he complete a move.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>