Chelsea agree first January transfer signing with £12m deal in place

Chelsea are closing in on a deal worth around £12million to sign 19-year-old defender Mamadou Sarr from Strasbourg.

Strasbourg are owned by BlueCo, the parent company of Chelsea, and Sarr will move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

The centre-back has made 12 appearances for Strasbourg this season and has been capped by France up to Under-19 level.

Sarr joined Strasbourg from Lyon last summer in a deal worth around £8.5m and has established himself as a starter in a team that is 10th in Ligue 1.

He is highly-rated and was part of the France squad that won the European Under-17 Championship in 2022.

A new centre-back has been a transfer priority for Chelsea in January following injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile.

The Blues last week recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan spell at Crystal Palace.

There are doubts over the futures of Axel Disasi and Tosin Adarabioyo.

But Sarr will finish the season with Strasbourg before joining Chelsea in the summer.

Through their link up with Strasbourg, Chelsea have three players - Djordje Petrovic, Caleb Wiley and Andrey Santos - on loan at the French club.