Chelsea supporters saw a new centre-back pairing on Sunday as Mamadou Sarr made his first start against Arsenal.
Sarr joined Trevoh Chalobah in central defence, with Liam Rosenior having to tweak his backline a bit after Wesley Fofana’s red card at the end of February.
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TalkingPoints user discussing Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah
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Sarr showed promise in Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal and could be a starter in the future. His passing was quite accurate once again, making him ideal for a modern-day coach like Liam Rosenior.
Mamadou Sarr of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea
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Trevoh Chalobah is Chelsea’s first-choice centre-back
Right now, you would have to say that Sarr certainly is pushing for a starting spot, but Chalobah is the only guaranteed starter in central defence at the moment and deservedly so.
Chalobah has been Chelsea’s best and most reliable centre-half this season. He has missed just one Premier League game, which was because of suspension.
Enzo Maresca was a fan of his, and Rosenior appears to be, too. Looking at his displays this term, it is not hard to understand why.
Against Arsenal, Chalobah was pretty solid, not giving Viktor Gyokeres much of a sniff. As per Sofascore, the 26-year-old made three clearances, won all of his ground and aerial duels and was not dribbled past once.
The likes of Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana may have more natural ability than Chalobah, but the former is still out injured, while the latter has also had fitness issues since arriving at Stamford Bridge and has often been unavailable as a result.
With that in mind, it is quite fair to say that Chalobah is definitely Chelsea’s first-choice centre-back today.
Trevoh Chalobah of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea
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Chelsea set to make Trevoh Chalobah mistake
Despite his contribution this term, Chelsea still seem prepared to offload Chalobah in the summer.
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It has been claimed that Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for Chalobah and a couple more centre-halves.
Given how reliable the England international has been in the current campaign, it would be crazy to sell him, especially if the plan is to build around someone like Fofana instead. The Frenchman cannot stay fit and recently got himself sent off.
Chelsea do not know how Colwill will perform after his ACL injury either. When you consider all of that, selling Chalobah would be a huge mistake.
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