Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final would have caught everyone’s attention, including figures at Chelsea.
It will go down as one of the most controversial games of football ever after Chelsea loanee Nicolas Jackson and his Senegal teammates walked off the pitch following the referee’s decision to award Morocco a last-minute penalty.
All of that came just shortly after Senegal had a goal disallowed, though it did not prove costly in the end, as the Lions of Teranga managed to run out 1-0 victors.
IMAGINE: You have the final say on Chelsea’s three-man centre-back shortlist. Who will you pick?
The three centre-back targets under consideration at Chelsea:
- Jeremy Jacquet
- Jacobo Ramon
- Marcos Senesi
The controversy of that final is not the only reason why Liam Rosenior and Chelsea staff would have been watching, however.
Mamadou Sarr could be ready for Chelsea role next season
As well as Jackson, who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich, Mamadou Sarr also featured in the game.
The 20-year-old started at the heart of Senegal’s central defence and put in a solid performance as his nation went on to keep a clean sheet.
According to Sofascore, Sarr made five clearances and won two of his aerial duels. In total, he made eight defensive actions, with El Hadji Malick Diouf being the only Senegal player to make more.
Sarr also completed 67 out of 71 passes attempted, giving him a pass success rate of 94%.
Having worked with him at Strasbourg, Rosenior already knows what the Senegal star is capable of. However, he has now seen that he can perform in a high-stakes game.
Chelsea have to play a lot of those, and Sarr has now proven that he has the ability to perform in one. Ultimately, Sarr could be ready for a first-team role at Stamford Bridge next season.
Chelsea should put faith in Mamadou Sarr instead of signing Jeremy Jacquet
Sarr may very well be ready for Chelsea’s first team next term. The problem is his pathway could be blocked by Jeremy Jacquet.
Chelsea are trying to bring in Jacquet now, clearly feeling that they can no longer wait until the summer to assess their centre-back situation.
It is not a positive development for the likes of Sarr and Aaron Anselmino, who are both the same age as Jacquet.
Should Chelsea recall Aaron Anselmino or sign Jeremy Jacquet?
Which option are you going for and why? 🧐
The smart thing to do would be to hold back from signing a centre-half this month, unless an elite name becomes available. If Chelsea want to go down the young route yet again, they should just turn to Sarr or Anselmino since they already have the duo on their books and will not have to pay £60m to acquire either player.
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