Chelsea player ‘can leave’ in January – Tuchel has given him ‘green light’ for exit this month

Chelsea defender Malang Sarr has been told he can leave the club this month, with Thomas Tuchel giving the ‘green light’ to a loan move.

That’s according to AS Roma Live, who say the Frenchman is an option for the Italian club as they look to find a centre-back for Jose Mourinho.

The website explains that general manager Tiago Pinto ‘remains vigilant’ for any potential ‘cheap options’ that could pop up for him and the club during the January transfer window.

He is particularly focused on improving Roma’s defence, with Mourinho making it clear in the summer that he wanted reinforcements there and continuing to believe as much.

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They like Marcos Senesi, but he is more likely to arrive in the summer, but they are looking at more ‘affordable’ options, and Sarr is one of the profiles that have been ‘submitted’ to the Portuguese boss.

He is out of favour at Chelsea at this moment in time, given there is Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevor Chalobah, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger and Tiago Silva ahead of him in the pecking order.

Those options mean he ‘can leave’ this month, with Tuchel giving his approval to a loan deal until the end of the season.

Sarr’s name has ‘ended up in the notebook’ at Inter Milan as a result, as well as their rivals AC Milan, who need a replacement for Simon Kjaer.

But now Roma are also considering joining the race and could have an advantage given the relationship they built during the deal for Tammy Abraham in the summer.