Malang Sarr has finally found a new permanent club, leaving Chelsea to return to France with Lens on a two-year contract.
During the early days of Mauricio Pochettino's reign, it became apparent that the 25-year-old had no future at Stamford Bridge, with his new boss needing reminding at a press conference that he was still at the club.
The entire 2023-24 campaign passed without there being a single sighting of Sarr, who had spent the previous season on loan at Monaco.
However, with a year left on his contract, there was an inevitability about a departure before the end of August as Chelsea look to reduce their outgoings.
There has been no official announcement from Chelsea, either with regards to a reported mutual termination of his contract or a move elsewhere.
Nevertheless, Lens revealed on Friday morning that they had signed Sarr on a permanent deal, with the assumption it is without a fee involved.
Sarr leaves in positive light with Chelsea fans
In the summer of 2020, the Premier League giants moved to acquire the services of Sarr on a free transfer after his departure from Nice.
At the time, there did not appear to be a plan for the defender, who would soon leave for Porto on loan with the summer transfer window having been extended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Just nine starts and five substitute outings came with the Portuguese side, seemingly harming his chances of breaking into Thomas Tuchel's plans.
Instead, Sarr would become an important squad member during 2021-22, making a total of 21 appearances in all competitions, including two substitute outings in the successful Club World Cup campaign.
On his Premier League debut, he produced a man-of-the-match performance in a 1-0 victory at Brentford, while he started in wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, clean sheets kept in both.
Furthermore, Sarr started nine EFL Cup and FA Cup fixtures during that season. Chelsea won every game, reaching the respective finals of each competition before losing to Liverpool.
Sarr now joins a team in Lens that have a new head coach in Will Still at the helm and will hope to go deep in the Europa Conference League, as well as regain a spot in the top three of Ligue 1.
