Thomas Tuchel has been handed a timely reminder about Chelsea defender Malang Sarr.
Sarr was one of seven first-team signings at Stamford Bridge last summer, but he along with fellow defender Thiago Silva were the only two that arrived on free transfers.
And whilst the Brazilian along with Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz and Edouard Mendy have all played a key role for Frank Lampard and Tuchel this season, Sarr has been loaned out to aid his development.
The France U21's move to Porto was announced in October and he could come up against his parent club in the Champions League quarter-final after the Portuguese side overcame Juventus at the last-16 stage.
With 19 appearances to his name across all competitions so far this season, the decision to join Porto on loan has certainly been vindicated especially as Sarr is getting experience in Europe's elite club competition.
In fact, the loan spell is going exactly as the 22-year-old planned, describing it as the 'perfect solution' as he knew he would not become a regular at Chelsea immediately.
"I was training with Chelsea before I got loaned," Sarr told L'Equipe, as per Sport Witness. "The loan was part of the plan.
"I had to be honest with myself, my season ended in March and I wasn’t going to be successful right away with Chelsea.
"It was the perfect solution because I wanted to do a season at a top club like Porto, to be good and then later take a place at Chelsea."
Sarr's plan to become a regular at Chelsea is great news for Tuchel as the Frenchman could end up saving the club millions.
The Blues are said to be prioritising a move for a new central defender this summer, and according to The Athletic, they have three names on their shortlist.
According to the report, Chelsea are keeping close tabs on Niklas Sule of Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig ace Ibrahima Konate and Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez, the latter of whom has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the past.
On transfermarkt, Sule is valued at £33.3m, Konate is valued at £31.5m and Gimenez has a market value of £58.5m.
But in Sarr, Tuchel may already have the perfect player defender for his back three formation and by deciding to hand the Frenchman a chance next season, can save the Blues some cash which could be used to address other areas in his squad.
