Chelsea 'fail to reach agreement' over last-gasp loan exit

Chelsea were in talks with French side Le Havre over a loan exit for forgotten centre-back Malang Sarr but failed to get a deal over the line before Thursday's deadline, according to reports in France.

Sarr, who joined on a free transfer from Nice in 2020, spent last season on loan at Monaco but was made available for transfer during the summer. However, there were no suitors for the high-earning defender, who has been frozen out of the first team at Chelsea and was recently spotted training with a handful of teenage trialists at Cobham.

Numerous outlets in France noted that Sarr, who is reported to earn £100,000 per week at Chelsea, was in talks over a loan move to Ligue 1's Le Havre on Thursday, only for the two sides to fail to reach an agreement.

Sarr will now remain at Chelsea for the next six months ahead of a summer window which will see the Blues attempt to shift his contract once again.

The 25-year-old was highly rated when he joined four years ago, but a handful of nightmare seasons have seen his stock plummet.

After joining Chelsea, Sarr was immediately loaned to Porto, but he would play just eight times in the league and even ended up making as many appearances for Porto's B team before returning to Chelsea in 2021.

He remained at Stamford Bridge for the 2021/22 season, making a further eight league appearances, before a loan to Monaco yielded 13 Ligue 1 outings last year.

Chelsea are keen to part ways with Sarr, whose contract runs until 2025, as they prepare to make a big move at centre-back in the summer. Sporting CP's Ousmane Diomande is the Blues' top target and has a release clause worth £69m in his contract.

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