Chelsea new signing compared so some of the world’s top defenders – and Malang Sarr | OneFootball

This is the peak of “rumour season,” but there are also concrete deals being done.

Today’s official announcement at Chelsea of the signing of Mamadou Sarr was not surprising, given we’ve known about the deal since January, but it’s still the perfect moment to think about his status and where he fits in this season and beyond.

Sarr looks set for first team reps at Club World Cup – and beyond

The indications seem to be that he will play a role in the first team squad – if the plan was to keep him on loan, it would have made more sense to just let him keep playing at Strasbourg.

He will get a chance to join up with his new teammates as soon as this week, and will train with the group and play in the Club World Cup. No decisions will be made until after then, but we suspect the idea is to move on at least two of Benoit Badiashile, Axel Disasi and Trevoh Chalobah, making room in the rotation for Sarr plus potentially one elite addition.

So how ready is Sarr? He’s risen quickly through the ranks from youth team football to Ligue 1 starter last season, playing in 27 games as Liam Rosenior’s team came within a whisker of Champions League football.

Without doubt his passing is what stands out from his stats. The possession game that Rosenior has our sister club playing really means his defenders stand out – he’s in the 98th percentile for pass completion, and the 77th for passes atempted.

A worrying comparison for Chelsea fans

Malang Sarr considered similar to Mamadou Sarr.

Funnily enough, the player considered 8th most similar to him by FBRef is actually his namesake Malang Sarr, who had a disaster spell at Chelsea. Let’s hope Sarr 2.0 works out a little better.

Thankfully, the likes of Willian Pacho and Raul Asencio and some other top defenders are in there too to make us feel a little better.

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