Man Utd flop out, Chelsea flop in as 'talks opened' with forgotten man
Tom Weber
- 11 Dec 2023 15:48 CST
- 3 min read
Besiktas are in talks with forgotten Chelsea man Malang Sarr, according to a report.
The Turkish giants are in crisis. Two coaches resigned in the space of a month and Besiktas are miles off the pace in the Turkish Super Lig table, sitting a whopping 14 points behind joint-leaders Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.
After their recent derby loss to Fener, the club hierarchy made the drastic decision to banish five players from the squad until further notice, including Man Utd flop Eric Bailly, who had only joined in September. A statement read: “Information from our club. Five players from our Football A Team have been excluded from the squad."
“...Vincent Aboubakar, Valentin Rosier, Eric Bailly, Rachid Ghezzal and Jean Onana were excluded from the squad due to poor performance and incompatibility within the team."
With Bailly out of the frame, the Istanbul club need a new centre-back and they are once again eyeing a Premier League flop.
Besiktas in Sarr talks
According to Footmercato, Besiktas have opened talks with Chelsea outcast Malang Sarr, who hasn't featured for the club since May 2022 - despite being among the top ten highest earners at Stamford Bridge.
Sarr is a remnant of the Roman Abramovich era and Mauricio Pochettino did not even appear to know he existed when asked about his future in the summer. The versatile defender, who can play both centrally and out wide, spent last season out on loan at Monaco but failed to impress.
The report acknowledges that discussions are at an early stage to figure out whether a deal is feasible as Sarr is still under contract until 2025. The Frenchman has also recently been linked with a January loan to Celta Vigo, who are currently coached by ex-Blues boss Rafael Benitez and in a relegation dogfight.
