OFFICIAL: Forgotten Chelsea defender Malang Sarr completes transfer

Tom Weber

Updated: 26 Jul 2024 10:41 CDT
2 min read

Forgotten Chelsea defender Malang Sarr has officially joined RC Lens.

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The 25-year-old's nightmare stint at Stamford Bridge has come to an end. The last time Sarr appeared in a competitive match for Chelsea was in May 2022 despite being fit to play last season.

When Chelsea signed him in on a free transfer in 2020, it looked a brilliant piece of business. Sarr had impressed for his hometown club Nice in Ligue 1 and looked to be on the verge of breaking into the France setup.

READ MORE: Latest Chelsea transfer news

However, both parties soon realised that Chelsea and Sarr was not a match made in heaven. In between loans to Porto and Monaco, the Frenchman ultimately only made 21 appearances for the Blues before essentially being banished from the first team.

Ahead of the 2023/24 season, then-head coach Mauricio Pochettino appeared to not even know who he was when questioned on his future, but a summer move didn't materialise.

Current ETV

Malang Sarr

D (C)

Chelsea

Malang Sarr

D (C)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€2.3M - €3.9M

Sarr joins Lens

In January, Le Havre were keen on bringing Sarr back to Ligue 1, but Chelsea allegedly failed to finalise the paperwork before the deadline and the transfer collapsed, prompting an angry response from the French club and forcing the player to travel back to England.

Now, however, Sarr has finally sealed his inevitable Chelsea exit. The Blues have agreed to terminate the versatile defender's contract and Sarr has indeed returned to the French top-flight.

READ MORE: Latest Chelsea transfer rumours

The 25-year-old has joined RC Lens ahead of what is bound to be an intriguing season. The 2023 Ligue 1 runners-up have lost coaching mastermind Franck Haise to Nice and are a bit of an unknown quantity for next season.

Sarr's debut for Lens will be his first competitive game of football since lining up for loan side Monaco in a 1-0 loss to Stade Reims on March 12, 2023.