Mourinho set to return to Chelsea to 'fish' for transfer duo

Suraj Radia

18 Nov 2023 16:36 CST
4 min read

Jose Mourinho will ‘fish’ for some of Chelsea’s fringe players according to new reports linking the Roma manager with a move for Malang Sarr and Trevoh Chalobah.

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Both players are out of favour under Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge and have not featured at all this season, with Chalobah still recovering from a long-term hamstring issue and Sarr not being included in Chelsea’s 25-man Premier League squad at all.

Roma are looking to strengthen in defence and Mourinho is believed to be keen on returning to his former club, where he had two spells in charge, to 'fish' for their unwanted players according to SPORT.

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Mourinho’s side currently sit seventh in Serie A and, while the goals of Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku have made Roma the third top scorers in the league, their record of 14 goals conceded in 12 games is amongst the worst out of any top half team.

Sarr would likely be available for a nominal fee, with Chelsea hoping to get his wages off the books as he enters the final 18 months of his contract, although Chalobah is likely to command a high asking price.

Chalobah had been in talks with Bayern Munich over a deadline day move this summer and Chelsea are open to cashing in on their academy graduate for financial fair play purposes but a deal could not be struck.

FFP set to determine future for out-of-favour Chalobah

Chalobah is expected to leave Chelsea in January and the Blues are hoping to raise in excess of £30 million for the 24-year-old, who has been told he is not in Pochettino’s plans even when he returns from injury.

The Blues have a multitude of options at centre-back including Sarr and Chalobah, with Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill and the injured Wesley Fofana all competing for a spot in Pochettino’s side.

William Gallas: "Perhaps Trevoh Chalobah doesn’t have the quality for a club like #Chelsea, and the club letting him go would be a completely different context to someone like Mason Mount."

(@Metro_Sport)
— Chels HQ (@Chels_HQ) November 10, 2023

The desire to sell Chalobah stems from Chelsea’s extravagant spending in the last year, which has seen nearly £1 billion spent on players, putting the club well into danger of violating financial fair play rulings.

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Roma, meanwhile, also have tight constraints of their own and Mourinho will seemingly be scouting the bargain bin to give his side more power in their push for Champions League qualification in Serie A.