Chelsea would like to bring back Mamadou Sarr (currently on loan at Strasbourg) to Stamford Bridge, according to Fabrice Hawkins.
However, the Blues cannot simply take him from the French side, as they risk further angering their fanbase after hiring their manager earlier this month.
Chelsea are considering sending Aaron Anselmino to Strasbourg after terminating his loan, but he reportedly doesn’t want to go to the Alsace side.
The West Londoners are looking for defensive reinforcement following an injury to Tosin Adarabioyo, with Levi Colwill still out of action.
Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile are also never far away from the treatment table, so the club has to secure at least one new defender this winter.
Chelsea have been trying to sign Jeremy Jacquet, but with a move not forthcoming, they are plotting to bring back Sarr and send Anselmino to replace him in France.
Ultimately, this situation reflects a familiar and deeply frustrating pattern in Chelsea’s current operations.
The sporting hierarchy has managed to upset all parties involved without solving the core problem.
Anselmino feels unwanted and shuffled around like a bargaining chip. Strasbourg are understandably irritated at being treated as a holding pen rather than a partner club.
Meanwhile, Chelsea still enter the second half of the season without the defensive reinforcement they clearly need.
Instead of acting decisively in the market, the club appear trapped in a cycle of internal manoeuvring and short-term fixes, prioritising asset management over squad coherence.
The Sarr-Anselmino shuffle feels small-minded, reactive and needlessly complicated, particularly when injuries have already exposed the fragility of the back line.
For a club of Chelsea’s stature, this kind of indecision is damaging. It erodes trust with players, strains relationships with partner clubs, and leaves the first team weaker.
Until the hierarchy aligns its recruitment strategy with footballing reality, these self-inflicted problems will keep resurfacing.