Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are all reportedly interested in signing FC Metz’s midfield prodigy Pape Matar Sarr this summer.
According to a report from the Daily Mail, FC Metz’s 18-year-old midfield wonderkid Pape Matar Sarr is a wanted commodity in the Premier League, with bigwigs Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all vying for his signing.
Sarr spent his youth career at the Generation Foot Academy in Senegal. The teenage prospect made the switch to FC Metz last summer and quickly became a first-team regular for the Ligue 1 outfit. To date, he has featured 27 times across all competitions for the club, scoring four goals in the process.
While Sarr largely featured as a defensive midfielder in his debut season, he is capable of operating as a No. 8 and has even been used as a No. 10 on occasions during his time in France. This versatility and the potential that he has shown at such a young age have led to serious interest from three of the biggest teams in England in Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City.
Chelsea, as things stand, have a packed midfield unit with N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek while things will only get crowded when the likes of Conor Gallagher and Billy Gilmour return from their loan stints. However, Kante is into his thirties, has had injury problems of late and will be out of contract in 2023.
So, putting a succession plan in place for one of their most important players could come in handy for Chelsea, which is where someone like Sarr can be a viable target.
Manchester United, too, are in a similar boat as Chelsea with regard to their options in the middle of the park. Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred, Donny van de Beek, Nemanja Matic are all available for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, along with academy product James Garner. However, Matic is being slowly phased out of the side over the past year, while Pogba’s future remains uncertain due to his contract situation.
With Garner also considering his options after refusing a contract, Manchester United could do with adding another young midfielder as an option for the future, which would explain their interest in Sarr.
Manchester City, meanwhile, will need a long-term replacement for Fernandinho, who is already 36 years old and is in the final year of his contract with the club. Rodri is a readymade option available at Pep Guardiola’s disposal, and someone like Sarr could then be seen as an understudy for the Spaniard or even Ilkay Gundogan, who will be 31 in a couple of months.
As a result, all the three Premier League clubs are considering making a move for the FC Metz prodigy this summer. The report adds that they would be willing to loan the 18-year-old back to the club for the rest of the season before bringing him into the fold next term. Sarr, however, signed a new long-term contract last September and could likely command a hefty fee.