Whether Chelsea target Mamadou Sarr actually suits Enzo Maresca’s style of play, two key stats explored

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Chelsea are close to signing Mamadou Sarr from sister club Strasbourg as they continue to build for the future.

It is being widely reported that Chelsea have agreed a deal with Strasbourg for Sarr, who is expected to remain at the Ligue 1 outfit until the end of the season.

Still just 19 and yet to play outside of France, not too many Chelsea fans will be familiar with the central defender.

There are a couple of statistics, though, that indicate whether Sarr could be a good fit for Enzo Maresca.

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Mamadou Sarr’s pass success rate

Like most modern-day coaches, Maresca is someone who wants his team to dominate possession and control games, which means playing out from the back.

To do that, a manager obviously needs central defenders who can keep the ball and play accurate passes. That is something that Sarr is more than capable of doing.

According to WhoScored, Sarr has a pass success rate of 93.2% this season, which is the highest in Strasbourg’s squad, excluding Oscar Perea, who has only played six minutes in Ligue 1.

Based on that, the Frenchman should be able to play in a possession-based team. Whether he is ready to make an impact at Stamford Bridge as early as the 2025/26 campaign, though, is a different discussion.

Mamadou Sarr’s successful take-ons

Another stat that shows Sarr could suit Chelsea’s style well is his number of successful take-ons per 90 minutes.

As per FBref, Sarr has averaged 0.78 successful take-ons per 90 minutes over the last year, which is quite high for a central defender. It puts him in the 99th percentile among his positional peers.

It shows that the France youth international is not afraid to try and twist and turn himself out of trouble when being pressed by a player on the other team.

The amount of attacks Chelsea could potentially start by having Sarr and Levi Colwill at the back is an exciting thought.

For now, though, Maresca will be relying on the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah to partner Colwill. Chalobah has just come in for praise after making a swift impact following his return from Crystal Palace.

However, in the future, Chelsea supporters could see Sarr in their backline, a player who may very well have the attributes needed to succeed under Maresca.