St Étienne ‘strongly considering’ Malang Sarr on long-term loan from Chelsea — report

After reports that Italian side Sampdoria may be interested in signing Malang Sarr on loan, another club have joined the fray.

According to Téléfoot Chaine (via GFFN), Ligue 1 club St Étienne, also known by their much cooler, abbreviated name, ASSE are also considering a loan move. ASSE have sold their star centre back, Wesley Fofana to Leicester City for a club record price of €35m, breaking the previous record of €30m, which they got in return for William Saliba from Arsenal last season.

After selling their two most talented center backs in consecutive summers, ASSE, who sold Kurt Zouma to us back in 2013, are a bit short at the position: Timothée Kolodziejczak and Harold Moukoudi as their only senior options, which could indeed make for a good situation for Sarr.

In addition, at ASSE, Sarr would play under Claude Puel, the same manager under whom he made his breakthrough at OGC Nice back in 2016.

The report further claims that St Étienne are even willing to take Sarr for two full seasons should Chelsea accept the proposition.

While ASSE do not represent a step forward for Sarr in terms of level of competition, they do sound like a good option overall, should he choose to return to France.