Chelsea Set To Sign Nice Defender On Free Transfer

The aggressive signing of Chelsea FC continues and the latest addition for Frank Lampard is Malang Sarr. The Blues are on the verge of signing the 21-year-old defender although he may not immediately play for Chelsea.

According to Goal, Chelsea has agreed to sign Sarr to a five-year deal after his contract with OGC Nice expired. However, the French player will be loaned out once he completes his medical this week. The move is seen tactical, preventing clubs like Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke and some unnamed Italian clubs from getting their hands on the France Under-21 international.

Aside from Chelsea and the teams mentioned, another club linked to Sarr was Arsenal. However, it appears the Gunners have folded and decided not to dangle a contract to Sarr when his deal with Nice expired.

In a previous post, it was mentioned how Arsenal was considering Sarr to beef up its defensive side. The only problem with that is the Gunners are also struggling financially and Mikel Arteta was clueless on the available budget he had to work with.

Sarr played in 20 games for Nice last season but ended up leaving the club. There were negotiations for him to stay on but talks bogged down. Clubs tried to talk with the French national but were allegedly turned off by the wage demands, The Guardian reported.

For the Blues, Sarr will become another signee though he may not get the chance to immediately play at Stamford Bridge. Before this development, Thiago Silva was the latest addition and the Blues have two more targets coming in soon. These are Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz.

Chilwell is all set to join the Blues, leaving only Havertz as the missing piece for Lampard. Chelsea is set to pay $66 million for the full-back.

With regards to Havertz, it may only be a matter of time before the 21-year-old makes his transfer as well. Negotiations are ongoing but it appears a deal will be announced soon. Bayer Leverkusen is seeking $118 million for the German midfielder.

With heavy investments being made, the Blues will have to unload some players. Among the names mentioned include Emerson Palmieri. Inter Milan has been linked to the 26-year-old player but needs to meet the $34 million asking price of Chelsea. Other players likely to be playing elsewhere include Marc Guehi, Jake Clarke-Salter, Baba Rahman, Matt Miazga and Tiemoue Bakayoko.