The Athletic’s Deal Sheet concluding the winter window is out, with some big looks ahead to potential business from the summer as well as looking back at what’s been done so far.
Where new defender fits in Rosenior’s pecking order
Mamadou Sarr signs for Chelsea.
Mamadou Sarr signs for Chelsea.
It was a quiet one for Chelsea, who did a lot more loan shuffling than they did signing players. The solitary addition to the first team squad was Mamadou Sarr, recalled from his loan at Strasbourg.
According to this piece, the 20 year old will “compete for a first team spot from the get-go.”
Wesley Fofana is clearly top man at the back, but can only play once a week. Thus far, Trevoh Chalobah has been his regular partner, and we don’t see that changing given the relationship they’ve built up.
We would imagine that the sporting directors have seen enough of Tosin and Benoit Badiashile at this point to know what they’re about. We would expect Sarr to jump ahead of them in the pecking order once he’s settled, and everyone will be keen to get a look at him before the summer.
Then Levi Colwill returns from his long term injury, and the battle really gets intense.
Of course it will all depend on how Sarr gets on, but you can be sure the shiny new toy will be given a proper chance to impress, especially given he knows manager Liam Rosenior from their shared time in France.
In other news…
Chelsea ended up not spending any money in January, but that has at least set them up for a big summer, when they can hopefully generate more income with some sales and then make some major improvements to the squad.
Trevoh Chalobah spoke to the media after the defeat to Arsenal and pointed out that it was just the “final details” his team were missing in a close game. Sadly those final details are always the hardest to get right.
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Mamadou Sarr signs for Chelsea.
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