Chelsea youngster Malang Sarr is reportedly set to leave Stamford Bridge on loan before the market shuts.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Blues want to send the 21-year-old defender out on loan during this new campaign to gain regular first-team experience.
The report explains that Portuguese champions Porto and French top-flight club Saint-Etienne are two suitors for him.
Porto, who have been drawn alongside Manchester City in this season’s Champions League group stage phase, are a team that always compete for the title in Portugal and have a quality squad of players.
Chelsea signed Sarr on a free transfer this summer, after his contract at French club Nice had expired.
The highly-rated Frenchman penned a five-year contract with the Blues and they want the first year of his development to take place out on loan.
Despite being aged just 21, the aggressive powerhouse centre-back played 119 senior games for Nice before his exit and is seen as a future star.
The left-footed defender was unlikely to force his way into Frank Lampard’s plans due to the amount of competition in the centre-back area this season, but a strong year out on loan should push him closer to the first-team squad.
Veteran defender Thiago Silva, 36, is surely only a short-term solution for Chelsea in the heart of defence and Sarr should be trying to line himself up as a successor.
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