Chelsea defender Malang Sarr is reportedly on the verge of being confirmed as a Monaco player.
While Sarr was signed by Chelsea in the summer of 2020, he was soon loaned out to Porto where he endured an unsuccessful stint in Portugal.
However, rather than spend another year away from Stamford Bridge as expected, the versatile defender was kept in the first-team squad by Thomas Tuchel.
Although he was never regarded as a first-team player, the 23-year-old proved to be an invaluable squad member as Chelsea faced a relentless schedule home and abroad.
In total, Sarr made a total of 16 starts and five substitute outings, with eight of those appearances coming in the Premier League.
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Nevertheless, despite the departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, the signings of Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella means that Sarr is no further up the pecking order.
According to Matt Law of The Telegraph, that will now result in Sarr being allowed to return to his homeland with Monaco.
The report says that Chelsea will initially receive a loan fee of £600,000 with Monaco having the obligation to buy at the end of the season.
Chelsea stand to receive in the region of £13m if Sarr fulfils a number of criteria during his time at the Ligue 1 title contenders.
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Should a deal be finalised, Chelsea will deem it to be financially successful with Sarr having been signed on a free transfer just two years ago.
Monaco have been in the market for a new central defender with Strahinja Pavlovic having been allowed to sign for Red Bull Salzburg earlier this summer.
Philippe Clement's side got their domestic campaign underway with a 2-1 victory over Strasbourg on Saturday afternoon.
Monaco are now preparing to square off against PSV Eindhoven in Champions League Qualifying, the tie currently evenly poised at 1-1 ahead of the second leg in the Netherlands this week.
Darren Plant
