Ligue 1 side set to make late move for Chelsea's forgotten star: Reports

Mauricio Pochettino could lose one of his centre-backs this deadline day.
Mauricio Pochettino could lose one of his centre-backs this deadline day.

Ligue 1 outfit Le Havre are reportedly set to launch a late move to rope in Chelsea defender Malang Sarr on the winter transfer deadline day.

Sarr, 25, has suffered a major drop in his squad role since the Blues' latest transfer refresh. He is currently below Cobham product Levi Colwill and last year's signings Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile in the west London outfit's pecking order.

A left-footed centre-back adept at operating at left-back if required, the Frenchman is yet to be named in a Chelsea matchday squad this season. He last played in AS Monaco's 1-0 Ligue 1 defeat to Stade de Reims past March before injuring himself during his loan spell.

Now, according to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, Le Havre are likely to hand Sarr a way out of his current predicament. They are set to approach Chelsea in the final few hours of the ongoing window to complete a permanent switch of the OGC Nice academy product.

Le Havre, who are 11th in the 2023-24 Ligue 1 table with 23 points from 19 games, are reportedly confident about signing Sarr. They could offer the player a rotational role alongside Arouna Sangante and Gautier Lloris at centre-back and Christopher Operi at left full-back.

Sarr, who scored thrice in 119 appearances for Nice, has represented Chelsea just 21 times since securing a Bosman move in August 2020.

Chelsea star makes claim after recent loss

Earlier this Wednesday (January 31), Chelsea were handed a 4-1 thrashing during their trip to Liverpool. They struggled to dominate the contest, registering just four shots compared to the hosts' 28 shots.

Speaking to club media, Blues summer arrival Christopher Nkunku suggested that he was disappointed with his team's recent result. He elaborated (h/t OneFootball):

"We feel sad because we lost a game which we wanted to win. To concede three goals and to come back is very difficult. I think we need to work more and come back stronger for our game on Sunday."

Claiming that his squad need to be better in the future, Nkunku added:

"I think we need to work on everything. We need to put more in every moment of the game. We need to push hard with our intensity. I think even in our character, we need to do more on the pitch to win the game. We know the stadium is difficult to play in, but we can do a lot more."

Nkunku, who arrived in a £53 million deal from RB Leipzig last summer, has netted two goals in five games across competitions for the Blues.

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