Chelsea boss Rosenior hails ‘world-class’ Sarr but €38m star ‘very likely’ out of the project

Robin Bairner

• 7 Feb 2026 08:46 GMT
• 4 min read

News

Chelsea have made two substantial decisions with regards their defence, where Liam Rosenior has hailed a January arrival as a “world-class” addition to the squad.

The Blues elected to recall Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg, where Rosenior got a close look at the 20-year-old Senegal international star.

Having worked with the centre-back for 18 months in France, the new Chelsea boss believes that his side have acquired a game.

Current ETV

Mamadou Sarr

D (C)

Chelsea

Mamadou Sarr

D (C)

Chelsea

€27.4M

ETV Range

€24.7M - €30.1M

View full profile

“Everyone knows what I think about Mamadou, he’s got the potential to be a world-class centre-back,” Rosenior said of a player signed by Chelsea in the summer of 2025 only to be loaned back to Strasbourg initially.

“I'm delighted he’s here and thank the sporting directors and ownership for supporting what I thought was the right decision.”

Chelsea ready to dump Badiashile

Sarr’s gain is set to come at the expense of fellow central defender Benoit Badiashile, who has been earmarked to leave Chelsea in the summer, according to a report from CaughtOffside.

Although there has been no contact from clubs, AC Milan, Juventus and Marseille are all potentially interested in a signing a player who is set to be made available for around €35 million.

An industry source is quoted as saying: “Badiashile is very likely out of the Chelsea project now.

“There has been some interest from AC Milan, albeit nothing that concrete yet, but we can expect to see them and others step up their efforts in the months ahead.

“While I wouldn’t say Chelsea are forcing Badiashile out, they are very much open to offers and would prefer a permanent sale to a loan. His asking price will be in the region of €35m.”

Are Chelsea right to back Sarr over Badiashile?

Rosenior’s decision to bring Sarr to Stamford Bridge is not just one designed to strengthen his squad in the future, but it is also one that can make an immediate impact.

Sarr is a better player now than Badiashile already, according to data analytics experts SciSports, which gives each player a SciSkill rating based on hundreds of in-game statistics.

On top of this, his potential is significantly higher than that of the former Monaco man.

Based upon this information, Chelsea are right to back Sarr ahead of Badiashile.

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