Chelsea start talks over two deals - including shock sale

Updated: 19 Aug 2026 16:40 BST | 5 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Al-Hilal have surprisingly opened talks with Chelsea over a potential move for Mamadou Sarr, while the Blues have also received fresh interest in Tosin Adarabioyo.

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Chelsea are looking to trim the fat from their squad in the final days of the window, with the defensive department an area that requires particular attention. There are simply way too many players available to Xabi Alonso, who has made it clear that he only wants four or five centre-backs.

Benoit Badiashile is set to belatedly join Napoli after some reported complications briefly jeopardised this deal. His medical was scheduled for earlier today, Wednesday. It has also been suggested that Axel Disasi is close to joining an unnamed club.

Compared

Benoît Badiashile

D (C)

Chelsea

Benoît Badiashile

D (C)

Chelsea

VS

Axel Disasi

D (CR)

Chelsea

Axel Disasi

D (CR)

Chelsea

€17.4M	ETV	€16.2M
€15.7M - €19.2M	ETV Range	€14.6M - €17.8M
25 years old (26 Mar, 2001)	Age	28 years old (11 Mar, 1998)
France	Nationality	France

Meanwhile, Chelsea have fielded interest from various suitors in Tosin. Benfica enquired about him, but they have signed Parma's Alessandro Circati instead, meaning that this destination is no longer on the table for the veteran defender.

This state of affairs could now allow Aston Villa to swoop for Tosin. According to Sky Sports, the Birmingham club have identified the 28-year-old as a potential replacement for Ezri Konsa, who will join Arsenal in a €60 million deal later this week.

Al-Hilal open Sarr talks

In addition to Badiashile, Disasi and Tosin, Mamadou Sarr could also be on the way out. It was initially thought that he would be loaned out, but there may now even be an opportunity for Chelsea to cash in on him - despite the fact that he has only been properly with the team since January.

Sarr was signed from BlueCo side Strasbourg and made his Chelsea debut in a brief cameo appearance at the Club World Cup last year. He returned to his former team on loan after the summer tournament, but he was recalled in January to beef up the options of new coach Liam Rosenior.

However, it didn't really work out for either party. Rosenior was sacked in April, and Sarr only made six appearances in the second half of the season, playing fewer than 300 minutes.

Real Sociedad have expressed an interest in taking him on loan, but Foot Mercato reports that Al-Hilal have also thrown their hat into the ring. Talks have already started, although the report does not mention what kind of deal is being discussed.

It is, however, difficult to imagine that Al-Hilal would be willing to loan Sarr - or that Chelsea would let him temporarily move to Saudi Arabia - unless there is a permanent element attached to the deal.

Given that there are only a limited number of international loan spots available to Chelsea, they would surely prefer to sell Sarr outright. The Saudi money would certainly be a welcome boost as the Blues have spent more than €400m on signings this summer.

They reportedly paid just €14m to sign him from sister club Strasbourg. It therefore shouldn't be too difficult to make a significant profit on him as the 20-year-old currently has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €26.2m.

Whether he has any interest in moving to Saudi Arabia at his young age is a different question, of course, but it is claimed that there have already been talks between Al-Hilal and the player's camp, so there should be clarity on the matter soon.

There has been a concerted effort from the Saudi Pro League to target younger players in order to become a more financially sustainable project, and the signing of Sarr would fit the mould.