Liam Rosenior of Chelseaplaceholder image
Liam Rosenior of Chelsea | Getty Images
Chelsea could continue their game of Strasbourg musical chairs.
Chelsea are now said to be considering a second loan recall as they look to conclude their transfer business ahead of the January transfer deadline on Monday. The Blues are still hoping to bring in a centre-back ahead of the window closing, with Jeremy Jacquet the clear priority.
A deal could yet be done, while a centre-midfielder deal, which was also of interest, does not look particularly likely ahead of Monday;s 7pm deadline.
The Jacquet deal has been rumbling on throughout the window, and there were reports that Chelsea would have to wait until the summer due to Rennes not wanting to sell this month. But there are now murmurings that the player wants to move now, opening the door to a possible deadline-beating deal.
Chelsea recalled Aaron Anselmino from his loan with Borussia Dortmund recently, and some thought that may be in preparation for a failed Jacquet deal, but the move was due to the centre-back only making six league appearances for Borussia Dortmund.
Sky Sports are now reporting that Chelsea could recall Mamadou Sarr, who has impressed in his 13 league appearances with Strasbourg, many of which came under Rosenior. Sarr also won the African Cup of Nations with Senegal during that time.
It’s unclear whether the move would be for Chelsea to strengthen their defence, perhaps in anticipation of any problems with the Jacquet deal, or whether Chelsea think Sarr can go out on loan at a bigger club and make an impact.
But Chelsea continue to play musical chairs with their sister club, moving players around at will. Like Anselmino, Sarr is only 20 years of age, and while he is yet to make a league appearance for Chelsea, they do see him as a potential first-team player in the future.
While at Strasbourg, Rosenior said of Sarr: “His temperament, his athleticism, his ability on the ball, he’s got everything you need to be a world-class centre-half,.”
Rosenior on West Ham win
Chelsea pulled off a comeback win over West Ham on Saturday, and speaking after the game, Rosenior said: “My biggest learning is there's a spirit, a fight and a resilience in this group that I really, really like.
“I've demanded from the first day of stepping in. We don't have many training sessions, but we spoke about reacting positively to setbacks. We've spoken about reactions to losing the ball, pressing, energy, intensity. All of that was there in the second half, which wasn't there in the first half.
“I don't put that just down to the changes I made. It's very difficult. We've had so many games in a short space of time. I was fearful of a lack of energy and not energy or lack of application, but I felt our decision-making was really poor in the first half. When to keep the ball, when we pressed, we were just too far off it.
“West Ham were by far the better team. We had a reaction at half-time. The reaction of the team in the second half tells me that we've got something really, really special here if I can utilise the squad in the correct way.”
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