Chelsea have axed a former rising star earning £100,000-a-week from their 25-man Premier League squad, after registering players for first half of the campaign.
The Blues have undergone a significant transformation since the start of the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital era at the club.
Significant changes have been made to the playing squad, with over £1billion spent in three transfer windows under the new regime.
The influx of signings has pushed some fringe players closer to the sidelines, which left them at risk of being left out of their Premier League squad.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino had 17 spots available for homegrown or foreign stars, with a further eight slots reserved for homegrown players.
Chelsea have named their 25-man Premier League squad for the first half of the season
Mauricio Pochettino was forced to take tough decisions over his new-look Blues squad
Defender Malang Sarr has been left out of the squad and appears likely to leave the club
Malang Sarr has failed to make the cut, with the 24-year-old having been left out of the official list submitted to the Premier League.
The French defender was signed by Chelsea from Nice in 2020, penning a five-year contract worth a reported £100,000-a-week.
Former Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia had said at the time that the opportunity to sign Sarr was ‘one we could not miss.’
The highly rated defender was loaned to Porto during the 2020-21 season, before making his breakthrough at Chelsea.
Sarr made 21 appearances in all competitions for the Blues during the 2021-22 season, but was loaned back to Ligue 1 with Monaco for the 2022-23 campaign.
The 24-year-old’s time at Stamford Bridge looks likely to be coming to an end, amid links to joining clubs in Turkey.
Pochettino memorably had forgotten the defender and goalkeeper Jamie Cumming when asked by a journalist about the duo earlier this season.
‘Who?’ Pochettino replied. ‘Oh my goodness. I don’t know what I can tell you.
‘I don’t know because you surprised me! It’s like you punch [me in the face] and I am like this [startled].
‘Because we were talking about Luton!’
Cumming, who had been on loan a MK Dons last season, has made the squad with the 24-year-old expected to provide cover to Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic and Marcus Bettinelli in the goalkeeping position.
Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Wesley Fofana, Reece James were the defenders included ahead of Sarr.
Pochettino’s 25-man squad is completed by midfielders Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher, as well as forwards Armando Broja, Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku and Raheem Sterling.
Romeo Lavia, Ian Maatsen, Cole Palmer, Lesley Ugochukwu are among the notable players under-21, who did not need to be named in the squad.
