London, June 9 (IANS) Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Mamadou Sarr from Ligue 1 side RC Strasbourg, with the defender signing a contract until 2033.

Mamadou was a regular for Strasbourg during the 2024/25 campaign and played a key role in the French team securing qualification for European football next season.

The 19-year-old made 28 appearances across all competitions and helped the club seal a place in next season’s UEFA Conference League play-off.

Sarr started life at Etoile Sportive de Saint Laurent Blangy Feuchy in Arras, northern France, before soon joining nearby RC Lens.

The family decided to return to the south of France though and Sarr moved to Lyon aged 12, which proved to be the making of Sarr, according to his older brother Abdoulaye.

The defender flourished in the Lyon youth ranks and made his senior debut as a late substitute in the penultimate game of the 2022/23 season aged 17.

Two more senior appearances arrived in the first half of the following season before he was loaned out to recently-promoted Belgian Pro League side Molenbeek, making six starts and four substitute outings as the club suffered relegation.

His performances had attracted the interest of Strasbourg, though, and he joined the club last August, a week before his 19th birthday.

It proved to be an excellent signing as the teenager became a regular under Liam Rosenior and made 28 appearances for Strasbourg as the club secured a seventh-place finish.

His father is Pape Sarr, a former midfielder who made more than 50 appearances for Senegal and was part of the squad which reached the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals and won the Africa Cup of Nations in the same year.

His talent has been recognised by his country as he has been capped at various youth levels, with his latest appearances coming for France’s Under-20 side.

–IANS

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