Chelsea Transfers

[Vesper 30,777]

What Mamadou Sarr will bring to Chelsea and why Liam Rosenior might have wanted him back

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7015638/2026/02/03/mamadou-sarr-Chelsea-analysis-liam-rosenior/

Speaking to British journalists in impressively fluent English during last summer’s Club World Cup, Mamadou Sarr was asked about then-Strasbourg coach Liam Rosenior’s public insistence that he has “world-class” potential.

“When I was a kid, I had a dream,” he replied. “It was to be the best centre-back in the world. I trust him (Rosenior), and I trust me.”

It was a response that revealed so much about Sarr, and also sheds light on why Rosenior is so keen to have the 20-year-old at his disposal for the rest of this season at Stamford Bridge. The defender’s loan spell at Strasbourg was cancelled on Monday, with Sarr coming back to west London.

Sarr joined Chelsea permanently last summer and was part of the squad for the Club World Cup on the back of a 2024-25 season in which he had established himself as a key contributor for Rosenior, making 27 starts in Ligue 1. His experience in the United States was positive for his development — and his medal collection — but it was clear that Enzo Maresca did not deem him ready for a big role; he played just eight minutes from the substitutes’ bench in a comfortable 3-0 group-stage win over ES Tunis.

Returning to Strasbourg and Rosenior last summer was the logical choice, and it gave Sarr six months more seasoning as a regular starter in Ligue 1. But circumstances at Chelsea have now shifted considerably; Rosenior has replaced Maresca, and Levi Colwill, the left-sided centre-back who was principally blocking the Senegal international’s path to the starting XI, remains a long-term absentee as he recovers from an ACL injury.

Benoit Badiashile has not managed to seize what appeared to be his best opportunity to establish himself in the heart of Chelsea’s defence in Colwill’s absence. Rosenior could be seen talking to him several times about his passing out from the back in the first half against West Ham on Saturday. The Frenchman was then substituted at the break.

Wesley Fofana and Trevoh Chalobah are currently Rosenior’s favoured centre-back pairing, but neither man is particularly confident with his left foot. While technically also right-footed, Sarr is very comfortable using his left, and that matters because of the additional angles it opens up when Chelsea are attempting to play out of defence, through and around opposition pressure.

During his breakthrough campaign for Strasbourg in 2024-25, Sarr marked himself out as being capable of breaking the opposition lines with passes punched through the middle of the pitch, as well as less risky balls down the left side…

It was a similar story for Sarr in the first half of this Ligue 1 season, with a slight shift towards more passes angled out towards the left touchline…

Sarr is also comfortable defending high up the pitch with space behind him, which should make him a good fit for Rosenior’s aggressive man-to-man approach out of possession…

During their time together at Strasbourg, Rosenior encouraged Sarr to be more vocal on the pitch. It is something Sarr has also prioritised in his choice of role models.

“I want to be like Virgil van Dijk,” Sarr said last summer. “He’s a leader. For a defender, it’s very important to be a leader. I love Van Dijk, but some people tell me I play like Ibrahima Konate. It’s very similar.”

Chelsea’s desire for a centre-back with this particular blend of qualities was underlined by their exploration of signing Van Dijk as a free agent last summer, before he re-committed to Liverpool. It also manifested in their January pursuit of Rennes starlet Jeremy Jacquet, who ultimately decided on a move to Anfield instead.

There is a world in which recalling Sarr proves to be a better football decision than paying the market rate for Jacquet, as well as being the cheaper option. For starters, he is available to help Chelsea immediately, rather than being acquired as a marquee summer signing six months ahead of time.

Sarr also knows exactly what he is walking into at Cobham. He spent a very productive summer with this Chelsea squad and is particularly familiar with Malo Gusto — a former team-mate at Lyon — and Andrey Santos, who captained his Strasbourg team. Premier League football will be a big step up, but there will be no surprises in what Rosenior wants from him on the pitch.

What You Should Read Next

Andrey Santos: The key cog in the way Chelsea want to play under Liam Rosenior

The young Brazilian is flourishing alongside Moises Caicedo in a double midfield pivot, with Rosenior having also leant on him at Strasbourg

Competition for minutes in Chelsea’s defence in the second half of the season will be fierce, even if Colwill does not return.

Fofana and Chalobah have developed a productive chemistry through regular starts, while Badiashile and Tosin Adarabioyo are seasoned professionals who will expect to be involved when fit. Then there is Josh Acheampong, nine months younger than Sarr, whose lack of opportunities in recent weeks has become a source of growing angst for some in the fanbase.

But if the increased prominence of Santos since Rosenior’s arrival is anything to go by, it would not be hugely shocking if Sarr ends up being much more than squad ballast at Chelsea.

By Liam Twomey and Anantaajith Raghuraman

[Vesper 30,777]

Chelsea January window review – and what they are planning for the summer

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7016835/2026/02/04/Chelsea-transfer-window-january-review-latest/

You can always rely on there being a lot of talk around Chelsea when a transfer window is open.

Even though the club did not intend to be too busy in the winter edition, Chelsea still managed to be part of the conversation throughout — whether it was about incomings or outgoings.

As it turned out, not much took place in either department. But there was enough to keep people talking about them until deadline day.

The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Sources with knowledge of transfer dealings, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, have been spoken to before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment.

Here’s The Athletic’s review of what took place.

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Was this window a success or a failure?

Neither. If you go back to the first Transfer DealSheet about Chelsea, previewing this window, it was expected to be pretty quiet unless the right opportunity to do something, as far as new signings presented themselves.

Chelsea have earmarked strengthening at centre back, midfield and in attack for 2026. This is still the case and will be the focus for the summer, as was kind of planned to begin with. However, fans will question why their pursuit of Jeremy Jacquet ended with the player opting to join Liverpool (more on that below).

As far as outgoings are concerned, coming to an agreement with Raheem Sterling so that he can leave for good was the biggest positive. He was the highest-paid player on over £300,000 a week but has not been part of the plans since the summer of 2024. The contract still had 17 months left to run, too.

Facundo Buonanotte’s season-long loan from Brighton and Hove Albion being cancelled made sense for the player. He was brought in as cover while Cole Palmer was coping with his injury issues, yet made only eight appearances. The attacking midfielder is now at Leeds United.

Tyrique George has a great chance to prove himself on loan at Everton. Outcast Axel Disasi, who was frozen out like Sterling, at least gets a chance to play senior football again on loan at West Ham. The management of other loans was also a primary focus.

Sterling left Chelsea in the windowEddie Keogh/Getty Images

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How much did they spend and how much did they bring in?

Not much in either category, although Chelsea have made a profit. By getting Sterling off the books now, Chelsea feel they have made some major savings compared to if he had seen his contract out.

Loan fees always generate a tidy bit of extra income. The sales of academy talent Leo Castledine and Ato Ampah, who have healthy sell-on clauses attached, improved their bank balance a little too.

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Who have they signed?

There was only one significant addition in the end, the decision to recall centre-back Mamadou Sarr from loan at Strasbourg. The 20-year-old will compete for a first-team spot from the get-go. He is highly rated at the club and, significantly, is also admired by new head coach Liam Rosenior, who worked with him for 18 months at Strasbourg. Chelsea see him as a similar profile to Dean Huijsen, who they tried to buy from Bournemouth last summer before he opted for Real Madrid.

On the academy front, Chelsea beat Manchester United to the signing of highly-rated left back Yisa Alao. The initial fee is a six-figure sum, but add-ons can take it well past the £1million mark.

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Were there any deals they wanted to do that they didn’t get over the line?

Chelsea wanted to buy Jacquet from Rennes but lost out to Liverpool. They were in discussions for most of the month, but the player opted to move to Anfield. The switch will be officially completed in the summer.

Chelsea believe a major factor in Jacquet’s decision could have been the competition he faced from other young centre-backs at the club. This includes Josh Acheampong, who they do not want to sell, and Sarr. There are no regrets that they missed out on Jacquet because of their decision to keep Acheampong and Sarr as part of their plans.

The club did make an enquiry to Juventus over a loan for Douglas Luiz, who spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Nottingham Forest. With Dario Essugo being ruled out until March, having not played all season, and Romeo Lavia being sidelined since November, they thought about adding some more depth to midfield. In the end, they decided against it, partly because Lavia is close to a first-team return and the form of Andrey Santos. After pulling out, Douglas Luiz went to Aston Villa instead.

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Are there still any obvious gaps in the team?

As explained, Chelsea desire a centre-half (regardless of Sarr), midfielder and attacker. It should not be forgotten that a deal for Sporting CP winger Geovany Quenda is already in place for him to join in the summer.

A decision will also be made whether goalkeeper Mike Penders, currently on loan at Strasbourg, will increase competition in that position.

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Do they have the squad to achieve their goals for the season?

Chelsea started the season aiming to qualify for the Champions League again via a top-five finish and compete in the three cup competitions they are in. The club have been able to challenge on all four fronts up until this week, at least, so what little has taken place in the window is not going to change that.

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Will the manager/head coach be happy?

Liam Rosenior has made a point of saying how happy he is with the squad he has inherited since taking over from Enzo Maresca a month ago.

Chelsea’s new head coach has revealed how often he is speaking to the recruitment team about their plans, so he is fully up to speed with what the thinking is. Being reunited with Sarr is another major plus point. After winning six games from his opening seven matches, Rosenior will be more pleased about the start his squad has made and the talent he has to work with.

Rosenior will be happy to be reunited with SarrrightSebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images

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What will their priority be in the summer?

To sign players in the three positions highlighted above.

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Will they have money to spend?

Yes. Chelsea became the first Premier League club to make over £300million in sales last summer, and they will have more assets to sell in the next window to help fund further purchases. The fact that they were prepared to do business during January is a strong indication of where they stand financially.

Do not forget Chelsea accrued in excess of £84m from winning the Club World Cup and have already brought in another £80m by progressing to the last 16 of the Champions League, with the possibility of more to come.

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What is their strongest XI now the window is shut?

(4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Joao Pedro.

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The full list of ins and outs

IN

Mamadou Sarr (recalled from loan at Strasbourg)
Yisa Alao (Sheffield Wednesday add-ons will take fee in excess of £1m)
Caleb Wiley (recalled from loan at Watford)
Teddy Sharman-Lowe (recalled from loan at Bolton)
Kiano Dyer (recalled from loan at Volendam)

OUT

Raheem Sterling (free agent)
Tyrique George (loan to Everton with option to buy)
Axel Disasi (loan to West Ham)
Kendry Paez (recalled from loan at Strasbourg, loaned to River Plate)
Aaron Anselmino (recalled from loan at Borussia Dortmund, loaned to Strasbourg)
David Datro Fofana (recalled from loan at Fatih Karagumruk, loaned to Strasbourg)
Facundo Buonanotte (season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion cancelled)
Leo Castledine (Middlesbrough fee in excess of £1m)
Ato Ampah (Stoke City undisclosed)
Frankie Runham (loan to Ipswich Town)
Dujuan Richards (loan to Leicester City)

By Simon Johnson

Chelsea Correspondent

[Strike 7,711]

So the brief from the board is we are a defender, midfielder and attacker short after being in charge of the last seven transfer windows

 

[Pizy 19,158]

What really needs to happen in the summer are things we 100% won’t do and that’s to get rid of Garnacho & Gittens and sign an actual top class LW. Someone who can be as good on that side of the pitch as Estevão is on the other. But there’s zero chance these guys admit those were massive mistakes after only 1 season.

[Fernando 6,694]

31 minutes ago, Pizy said:

What really needs to happen in the summer are things we 100% won’t do and that’s to get rid of Garnacho & Gittens and sign an actual top class LW. Someone who can be as good on that side of the pitch as Estevão is on the other. But there’s zero chance these guys admit those were massive mistakes after only 1 season.

Maybe if Quenda becomes like Estevao then all is well and Gittens and Garnacho become subs. 

[TheHulk 2,616]

2 hours ago, Fernando said:

Maybe if Quenda becomes like Estevao then all is well and Gittens and Garnacho become subs. 

They aren't good even as subs. What a waste of 100m.

[NikkiCFC 8,495]

3 hours ago, Pizy said:

What really needs to happen in the summer are things we 100% won’t do and that’s to get rid of Garnacho & Gittens and sign an actual top class LW. Someone who can be as good on that side of the pitch as Estevão is on the other. But there’s zero chance these guys admit those were massive mistakes after only 1 season.

We spent around 240m euros on Sterling, Mudryk, Gittens and Garnacho. Sold Pulisic for 20m. We downgraded.

[Mário César 1,426]

2 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

We spent around 240m euros on Sterling, Mudryk, Gittens and Garnacho. Sold Pulisic for 20m. We downgraded.

For me, that’s the most unbelievable mistake by the board. I can still understand Garnacho because he came from United and has shown some decent things, but the Gittens signing — especially for the price paid — represents everything that’s wrong with this board. Sterling, despite everything, came from City, and Madueke, who’s already been sold, was cheap. Mudryk has also been a disaster, but honestly, the Gittens signing is by far the worst of them all.

 

 

 

[Vesper 30,777]

https://football-observatory.com/WeeklyPost532

Thanks to the data exclusively produced by our partner Impect, the 532nd CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the ball-friendliest teams in the world. The ranking was established according to four indicators: the proximity of passes (the shorter, the better), the pace of passing during possession, the duration of possessions and the percentage of balls received in the opponent's third below knee height (on the ground)*.

 

Of the 915 teams in the 58 leagues analysed, the highest score was recorded for Bayern Munich (Vincent Kompany). The Germans are ahead of Paris Saint-Germain (Luis Enrique), with FC Barcelona (Hansi Flick) in third place and Bayer Leverkusen in fourth (Kasper Hjulmand). Among teams outside Europe's big-5, Columbus Crew (5th overall) are ahead of Denmark's FC Nordsjælland (7th) and French second division’s AS Saint-Étienne (8th).

Manchester City (6th), Celtic FC (9th) and Olympique de Marseille (10th) round up the top 10. The top 20 also notably includes Norway’s Bodø/Glimt (Kjetil Knutsen) and Spain’s Elche CF (Eder Sarabia). At the opposite end, the least ball-friendly teams out of the sample analysed are Irish sides Galway United and Drogheda United, ahead of Belgium’s Patro Eisden, Portugal’s CD Feirense, Austria’s SKU Amstetten and Czech Republic’s FC Zlín.

*The data is presented as a ratio relative to the average recorded across the 915 teams analysed (current or last completed domestic league matches only).

Ball-friendliest teams, 58 leagues worldwide

Domestic leagues matches, current or last completed season until 30/01/2026
Proximity: proximity of passes
Tempo: pace of passing during possession
Duration: duration of possessions
Ground: % of balls received in the opponent's third below knee height

snip

[Vesper 30,777]

4 hours ago, Fernando said:

Maybe if Quenda becomes like Estevao then all is well and Gittens and Garnacho become subs. 

wrong side of the pitch

Quenda is a left-footed RWer

we need a right-footed (or ambipedal) LWer

a pretty extensive list (some are pipedreams, some are dice-rolls and some are youth)

some are more AMFs than wingers (in italics), but I wanted to be as maximal as possible, and all of those types listed deffo play winger:

Vinicius Junior
Jamal Musiala
Kenan Yıldız
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Désiré Doué 
Morgan Rogers
Bradley Barcola
Yan Diomande
Fermín López
Rafael Leão
Nico Williams 
Rodrygo   
Anthony Gordon
Dani Olmo
Said El Mala
Iliman Ndiaye
Ibrahim Mbayee
Crysencio Summerville
Rodrigo Mora
Malick Fofana
Jesús Rodríguez    
Assane Diao
Kevin
Dan Ndoye
Antonio Nusa 
Jean-Mattéo Bahoya
Matías Fernández-Pardo
Bazoumana Touré  
Oskar Pietuszewski  
Jeremy Monga
Kerim Alajbegovic

[Vesper 30,777]

2 hours ago, Mário César said:

For me, that’s the most unbelievable mistake by the board. I can still understand Garnacho because he came from United and has shown some decent things, but the Gittens signing — especially for the price paid — represents everything that’s wrong with this board. Sterling, despite everything, came from City, and Madueke, who’s already been sold, was cheap. Mudryk has also been a disaster, but honestly, the Gittens signing is by far the worst of them all.

 

 

 

Both look like busts atm, especially Gittens

over £92m in toto likely down the shitter

£52m for Gittens (MADNESS)

£40m for Garnacho, AND we lose 10 per cent on the sell-on

🤬

[Duppy Conqueror 1,582]

10 hours ago, Strike said:

So the brief from the board is we are a defender, midfielder and attacker short after being in charge of the last seven transfer windows

 

3 players is pretty standard reserved summer window tho.for even if a club has been highly successful.

[Vesper 30,777]

Expansive CF target list (I just did this today for right-footed LWers)

I do not think we are set at CF, even with Emmanuel Emegha coming in

some of these are pipe dreams and some are older stopgaps, but like the other list, I want to be maximal

this is simply off talent, both potential or current

in order of valuation

 
Alexander Isak (rumours are out there Pool will sell him)
Julián Alvarez 
Lautaro Martínez
Victor Osimhen
Harry Kane  
Marcus Thuram
Samu Aghehowa 
Ferran Torres
Nicolas Jackson  (keep him?)
Moise Kean 
Serhou Guirassy  
Gonçalo Ramos
Pio Esposito
Ange-Yoan Bonny   
Vitor Roque  
Santiago Castro 
Igor Thiago 
Dušan Vlahović  
Jhon Durán  
Fisnik Asllani  
Amine Gouiri  
Joaquín Panichelli 
Charalampos Kostoulas 
Rayan  
Endrick 
Mikel Oyarzabal
Patrik Schick 
Conrad Harder 
Christian Kofane 
Eli Junior Kroupi
Franculino 
Santiago Gimenez 
Franjo Ivanović 
Ivan Toney 
Eliezer Mayenda 
Kauã Elias
Francesco Camarda  
Ricardo Pepi 
Adam Hlozek    
George Ilenikhena 
Aleksandar Mitrović
Luca Meirelles
Kader Meïté 
Robinio Vaz
Jhon Córdoba 
Ricardo Mathias  
Robert Lewandowski 
Sidiki Chérif  

[Pizy 19,158]

9 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

We spent around 240m euros on Sterling, Mudryk, Gittens and Garnacho. Sold Pulisic for 20m. We downgraded.

I was perfectly ok with us selling Pulisic. Always injured and inconsistent when he was fit.

What’s super maddening about our current situation is that 95% of our fanbase KNEW that we shouldn’t have gone near Gittens and Garnacho. Everyone knew these guys were bang average or even worse than bang average but for some strange reason people at our club were obsessed with both.

If I’m being fair, if we had an amazing beast of a starting LW I actually would mind having Garnacho as that player’s sub. As infuriating as he is, he’ll still pop up with goals here and there.

Gittens is the one that was a horrific mistake. Dortmund were literally shocked that we were willing to pay that price and their supporters were actually laughing at us for doing so too.

We’ve now bought 3 high priced LW’s in a row that have all either been gigantic flops like Mudryk and Gittens or disgustingly inconsistent like Garna. 

[Bluepower777 50]

On 17/01/2026 at 00:43, Reddish-Blue said:

It just sounds like the board didn't want to keep Maresca for that long but they gave him time due to the club world cup win. 

Maybe similar to Di Matteo staying after the UCL win

So instead they have downgraded on Maresca probably due to financial constraints. Im hoping these people kmow what they doing but tbf it certainly doesn't look like they do. I think its really sad times, all you have to do is look at the utter dross being connected to our club whether true or not.

[Vesper 30,777]

On 03/02/2026 at 15:37, Strike said:

Aguero refers to summer 2018 when Costa and Conte had fought and Costa was on his way out

No, It was not the summer of 2018

It was the summer of 2017 that Conte told Costa (via text, ffs) that he was not wanted anymore.

see this:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Costa#Club_career

2017–18 season

"Hi Diego, I hope you are well. Thanks for the seasono [sic] we spent together. Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan."

– Antonio Conte informing Costa by text in June 2017 that he would no longer be involved with Chelsea^[131]

In June 2017, Costa was told by Conte that he was not part of his plans for the coming season and that he was free to move to another team via text message.^[131] Although Costa was linked to potential moves to the likes of Milan, Monaco, and Everton, he stated that he would only be open to moving back to his former team Atlético Madrid. Costa attempted to find a legal solution through his lawyer in pushing for a move back to Madrid,^[132] and said that Chelsea were treating him like a "criminal" by demanding a high transfer fee for his exit.^[133] He was excluded from training with the first-team, but was named in the Premier League squad, yet left out of the Champions League squad.^[134]

On 21 September 2017, Chelsea announced that Costa would return to Atlético at the start of the next transfer window in January 2018.^[135][133] On 26 September 2017, it was announced that after passing medical tests Costa signed a contract with Atlético. He was registered and became eligible to play after 1 January 2018, due to a transfer ban imposed on Atlético.^[136]