Thomas Tuchel has blocked Chelsea defender Malang Sarr to leave Stamford Bridge in the current summer transfer window for Premier League returning Fulham, according to a report from England.
The 23-year-old French center-back moved to the West London side on a free transfer from Ligue 1 outfit Nice in 2020 but the Senegalese descent struggled for game time during the 2021-22 season after his loan spell at FC Porto.
Sarr managed 22 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea with the France U21 starting only six Premier League games as he failed to nail down a starting shirt for the Blues defence line last season due to the presence of Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Trevoh Chalobah.
According to Evening Standard report that Fulham boss Marcos Silva has contacted Chelsea about prizing away Sarr from Stamford Bridge to Craven Cottage as the newly promoted Premier League side are seeking to reinforce their defence as they attempt to avoid immediate relegation back down to the Sky Championship again.
However, Tuchel has rejects the offer after missing out on Jules Kounde and Matthijs de Ligt as both pair ended up at Barcelona and Bayern Munich respectively.
German tactician has indicated that Sarr might leave the Blues until they have signed a new central defender themselves as the West London giant is being linked with a move for RB Leipzig center-back Josko Gvardiol and Leicester City’s Wesley Fofana.
Tuchel has already lost Rudiger and Christensen to Real Madrid and Barcelona, while Azpilicueta and Marco Alonso continues to be linked with a return to Spain.
Blues are struggling to adequately replace the pair despite Kalidou Koulibaly having joined Chelsea from Napoli but Tuchel is keen on adding at least one more defender, which could become two if Azpilicueta also leaves.
.
