AC Milan are reportedly expressing an interest in signing Chelsea defender Malang Sarr, who is currently enduring a nightmare loan spell at Monaco.
According to French outlet Mediafoot, AC Milan still retain an interest in signing Chelsea’s wantaway loanee Malang Sarr, who is contemplating leaving Chelsea in January and may cut-short his Monaco loan stay to clinch a winter transfer.
Sarr joined the Blues from French outfit OGC Nice on a Bosman deal in the summer transfer window of 2020. The French defender spent 2020/21 on loan at FC Porto, where he made 19 appearances across all competitions.
He returned to Stamford Bridge for the 2021/22 season and was inducted into the first team, but struggled for game time under Thomas Tuchel, playing just 21 times on all fronts, of which only eight of those were in the Premier League.
Malang Sarr is currently on loan at Monaco in France, having joined on a season-long loan with an option to buy for a reported €15 million. Monaco’s purchase option could become mandatory if certain conditions are met, including the number of competitive appearances.
Presumably, the French outfit are in no rush to hand him those appearances to meet those parameters. The 23-year-old centre-back has made just eight appearances for Monaco so far this season, and a grand total of 411 minutes across all competitions.
He has struggled to force his way into Philippe Clement’s starting XI and is not receiving the game time vital for his development. His lack of playing time is also not helping Chelsea, who are looking to offload the player.
Once regarded as one of the most promising young defenders in Europe during his breakthrough as a teenager at Nice, Sarr will be looking to revive his fledgling career with a change of scenery in the fast-approaching winter transfer window, with AC Milan believed to hold a long-standing interest in the left-footed central defender, according to the player’s agent.
Malang Sarr’s agent Pastorello: “He’s not playing a lot at AS Monaco, he’s a bit disappointed as he left Chelsea to play more — let’s see if they will let him leave in January”, tells TMW 🔴 #CFC
“Torino wanted him last summer, and AC Milan have been tracking him for long time”. pic.twitter.com/MDVAGSggRG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 18, 2022
Milan were searching for a new centre-back ahead of the January window earlier this year, with names like Sven Botman heavily linked with a move to San Siro, and Sarr was mentioned among several alternatives given his lack of playing time since joining Chelsea.
Eventually, a new central defender did not arrive despite Simon Kjaer’s season-ending ACL injury, as boss Stefano Pioli chose to trust young Pierre Kalulu, and it proved to be a smart decision as the Rossoneri won the Scudetto.
While Milan have addressed the centre-back issue by signing Malick Thiaw in a bargain deal from Schalke, the Italian giants currently lack a left-footed defender in their squad and could well benefit from adding a promising talent like Sarr if he were available for a low fee. After all, Simon Kjaer isn’t getting any younger at 33-years-old.
Sarr ticks a lot of boxes of a modern-day centre-back, with the Frenchman’s primary attributes being physicality, quickness, vision, composure, and aerial supremacy. Furthermore, he is a left-footed ball-playing defender, which may give different options for playing out from the back.
Milan have a history of negotiating successful transfers with Chelsea, as they currently have former Blues duo Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud among their ranks. Maybe, Sarr could follow that path toward establishing himself as a top defender and developing further.
