Chelsea star ready to leave Stamford Bridge amid interest from Sevilla: Reports

Chelsea centre-back Malang Sarr is reportedly open to leaving the club amid interest from La Liga side Sevilla.

According to OK Fichajes (h/t Les-transferts.com), Sevilla are interested in signing Sarr and parties have discussed an initial loan deal with an option to buy for €10 million. He joined the Blues in the summer of 2020 on a free transfer but has since failed to carve out a niche for himself in the club's XI.

Sarr has been loaned out to Porto and AS Monaco during that time and has made just 21 senior appearances for the Blues. He has yet to play a single minute under Mauricio Pochettino this season, which makes it pretty evident that the Argentine doesn't have the Frenchman in his plans.

Sevilla, meanwhile, seem open to providing him with an exit route, with the player's contract expiring in the summer of 2025. Tanguy Nianzou and star centre-back Loic Bade are currently sidelined with injuries while Sergio Ramos, 37, is out of contract at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Hence, Sarr could find a place in Los Nervionenses' first-team set-up. Chelsea, meanwhile, could lose another centre-back in 2024, with Trevoh Chalobah reportedly linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge.

On top of that, Thiago Silva, 39, is out of contract in the summer of 2024, which could leave Chelsea short of options at the back. That being said, Wesley Fofana is currently out injured with an ACL issue and should slot into the starting XI when he returns to full fitness in the future.

Pochettino also has Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill, and Axel Disasi as his centre-back options.

---

Chelsea's poor start to the season continues after latest loss

It seems to be one step forward and two steps back for Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino in recent months.

After winning 2-0 in the league against Sheffield United and coming back from behind to beat Newcastle United on penalties in the EFL Cup quarterfinals, Chelsea found some much-needed momentum. But once again, they failed to show any consistency, losing to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday (24 December).

Mario Lemina (51') and Matt Doherty (90+3') scored for Wolves at Molineux while Christopher Nkunku netted a consolation goal late in second-half stoppage time. The 2-1 loss sees the Blues sit in 10th position in the table with just 22 points from 18 league games.

They have won just nine out of their 22 games across competitions this season and have recorded the most league losses (19) out of any Premier League team in 2023. The Blues next face Crystal Palace at home in the league on Wednesday (27 December).