Malang Sarr’s (25) anonymous – almost too literally – stint at Chelsea came to an end this summer. The Frenchman joined on a free transfer from formative club OGC Nice in the summer of 2020 but failed to ever break through, spending periods on loan at Porto and AS Monaco.
He returned from a challenging loan spell with the Principality club in the summer of 2023. When he returned to Chelsea, there was a new manager in place and a whole raft of new players. Sarr, quite literally, got lost in all of that. “Who is that,” responded then-Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino when questioned on the Frenchman’s future.
Sarr has responded to that brutal snub from Pochettino, now manager of the USMNT. “I took it badly. It shouldn’t have happened. He knew me. He even tried to sign me at Tottenham. I didn’t ask for an explanation,” he told L’Équipe.
The former Nice defender didn’t play a single minute under Chelsea for Pochettino last season. Both left at the end of the campaign with the former terminating his contract by mutual consent, allowing him to sign for RC Lens on a free transfer. Sarr, nonetheless, says that he has “no regrets” about his time at Chelsea, even if he admits to having “lost time” at Stamford Bridge.
Since joining Les Sang et Or, Sarr has made six appearances in all competitions, and he made his second start in Ligue 1 during the 3-1 defeat to Olympique de Marseille on Saturday.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle