Malang Sarr's agent Federico Pastorello has acknowledged that the defender's loan spell at AS Monaco could end earlier than planned. The defender has been in and out of the Ligue 1 side's starting XI since joining the club at the start of 2022/23.
The 23-year-old managed 22 appearances under Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge last term, mainly being used as a rotation option and the decision was made for the Frenchman to take a move away from west London despite the departures of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen in the summer. Sarr has made just eight appearances at Monaco so far and struggled to make it into Philippe Clement's starting XI.
The Ligue 1 side have an option to make the move permanent come the end of the season, and Pastorello believes the club are happy with Sarr despite his limited role. The agent conceded his client is not entirely content however and seemed to indicate an offer for the defender's services could come in.
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Pastorello told Tuttomercatoweb: "He is a boy I would see very well in Italy. At Monaco his playing time is limited, but they are happy with him, we will see if they will let him leave as soon as offers arrive.
"But clearly there is a bit of disappointment on the part of the boy, he would have liked to find more playing time by moving from Chelsea. There’s a whole second half of the season, we’ll see. We will work on it."
Sarr joined Chelsea on a free transfer in August 2021 after the former Porto loanee departed Nice, with Marina Granovskaia describing him as a 'tremendous prospect'. The Blues handed him a five-year deal.
It appears the club had plenty of competition for Sarr's signature, with teams in Italy coming particularly close. Serie A appears to be where Pastorello hopes to push his client.
He said: "He had already been very close [to joining an Italian club]. He was one step away from an agreement with Torino, but while we were negotiating the Chelsea opportunity came up. That opportunity was immediately seen by the boy as an incredible chance for his career and he took it, I understand that.
"But I repeat, for me, the Italian league would be the ideal one for him. I won’t hide the fact that AC Milan also followed him for a long time: with Frederic Massara and Paolo Maldini I discussed it a lot when his contract was expiring, and they could have signed him. At Milan he would have found an easier path than the one he had at Chelsea."
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