Report: Chelsea tracking 18-year-old African midfield prodigy from Ligue 1 club

Transfer News: Chelsea among clubs tracking Pape Sarr

According to transfer news from French publication L’Equipe (h/t Shields Gazzette), Chelsea are among a number of keeping clubs that are monitoring FC Metz’s teenage midfielder Pape Sarr.

Pape Sarr came through the ranks at the Generation Foot academy in his homeland, Senegal. The young midfielder made his way to Europe only last year, signing for Ligue 1 outfit FC Metz. In his debut season in France, Sarr made a solid impression, featuring 25 times for the first-team in which he scored four goals. (h/t Transfermarkt)

Primarily a defensive midfielder, the 18-year-old can also play in advanced positions in the centre of the park. On the back of his impressive displays for FC Metz, Sarr also received a call-up to the Senegalese national team in March earlier this year. The 18-year-old has now made two international appearances for the Lions of Teranga.

Now, it is claimed that Chelsea are one of the many English clubs tracking the young midfielder’s progress. The Blues have always had the penchant to monitor and pick up youngsters with potential from across Europe before loaning them out. While, in the past, a pathway to the first-team would have been difficult for such players, things have changed on that front.

The likes of Mason Mount, Reece James, Billy Gilmour are some of the names that have made the successful transition from the Chelsea youth ranks to the first-team. So, given Sarr’s potential, it should hardly come as a surprise that the Blues are keeping an eye on him.

Apart from the west London giants, the 18-year-old is also attracting interest from Newcastle United, along with Everton as well as Aston Villa.

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Sarr, should he make the move to Chelsea, might not find regular first-team football immediately given the plethora of options Thomas Tuchel already has at his disposal. So, in case the Blues do push to sign him, he would likely be sent out on loan to continue his development. However, all that would be secondary if the club does not press ahead with the reported interest in the prodigy.