Chelsea are reportedly set to sign Malang Sarr.
The 21-year-old defender, who has also been linked with a move to Arsenal, is available on a free transfer after his contract with Ligue 1 outfit Nice expired earlier in the summer.
Over the weekend, Sky Sports claimed the Blues were in talks to sign the France U21 international as head coach Frank Lampard looks to bolster his defensive options ahead of the 2020/21 season.
Now reports from France as well as The Athletic state that Sarr is close to joining the Blues and is poised to sign a five-year contract.
In addition, France Football are reporting that the defender has rejected contract offers from Fulham & AS Monaco in order to join Lampard's revolution at Stamford Bridge.
However, Sarr is unlikely to feature for the Blues next season.
This is because he is expected to be loaned out to a club in one of the other top four European leagues in order to continue his development before returning next summer to be assessed.
Signing players for the future and loaning them out is a tried and tested formula for many Premier League clubs including the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners have done this with William Saliba, while their north London rivals did the same with Dele Alli in February 2015, after spending £5million on the midfielder before loaning him back to MK Dons.
Interestingly, Sarr could follow a similar path to Zouma if he does join Chelsea.
In Zouma's case, he signed for the Blues in January 2014 having already played well over 50 first-team games for Saint-Etienne and was loaned back to the Ligue 1 outfit.
And after finishing the 2013/14 Ligue 1 season, he was fast-tracked into the Blues first-team by then-boss Jose Mourinho.
A serious knee injury has delayed his development but after loan spells at Stoke City and Everton, he's once again a regular for Chelsea - this time under Frank Lampard.
This could be an astute signing from Chelsea as former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira, who is now manager of Nice and worked with Sarr, once hailed the defender's leadership qualities.
"He has the personality of a leader," Vieira told Sport365 in 2019. "He answers simply and clearly. My role, with my staff, is to continue to make it progress, and to exchange with him so that he knows what the very high level is.
"We’ve seen it in the last few games, today Malang is better than it has been."
