Everton are reportedly eyeing a swoop for Chelsea defender Malang Sarr who does not seem to be in the plans of manager Thomas Tuchel currently.
According to a report from GianlucaDiMarzio.com, Everton are considering raiding fellow Premier League club Chelsea for the signing of 22-year-old defender Malang Sarr.
The French centre-back came through the youth ranks at OGC Nice and went on to rack up nearly 120 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit, scoring and assisting three goals. However, having ran his contract down with his boyhood team, Sarr signed for Chelsea on a free transfer last summer.
Immediately after though, the 22-year-old was sent out on loan to Portuguese giants FC Porto. However, Sarr endured an underwhelming stint with the Dragoes managing just 19 first-team appearances while he featured eight times for their B team as well.
Now back at Chelsea, it does not look like Sarr is part of the plans under manager Thomas Tuchel. Indeed, the German tactician already has a plethora of players to choose from at centre-back with Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Trevoh Chalobah, who has also presented himself as an option with a strong start to the season.
So, there is little scope for Sarr to break into the first-team at Stamford Bridge this term. And as things stand, the 22-year-old could very well be on the move, with Bologna in talks to sign the French-Senegalese defender while Everton are also keen on taking him to the club.
Everton have made an unbeaten start to the new season under new manager Rafael Benitez, winning and drawing a game each. However, the Spaniard, who likes his teams to be solid and hard to break down, will be concerned about having let in three goals in the first two games and will want to address the issue at the earliest.
While a new right-back is on the agenda for the Toffees, a new central defender would also be a welcome addition considering that Yerry Mina could be on his way out of the club before the transfer window closes. Mason Holgate remains an option to partner Michael Keane, along with Ben Godfrey, but has shown signs of inconsistency.
Thus, adding another centre-back would serve the Merseysiders well as they look to break into the European qualifying places for the season. Sarr, to that end, has emerged as a transfer target. However, Everton will have to stave off interest from Bologna as well as Eintracht Frankfurt to swoop him away from Chelsea.
With just a week left for the transfer window to close, it remains to be seen if Everton are prepared to go after the Frenchman or decide to pursue alternate targets such as Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti.
