Chelsea have risked a locker room revolt with the sudden dismissal of Mauricio Pochettino, but the news is being welcomed by at least one of their players.
Pochettino was relieved of his duties on Tuesday afternoon by mutual agreement, 48 hours after his last game, despite being popular in the Chelsea dressing room.
And although fans have been divided over the former Tottenham manager’s presence on the touchline, there is one player who seems to like his departure.
Malang Sarr, the French centre-back signed by Chelsea on a five-year deal in 2020, was seen liking the club’s Instagram post about Pochettino’s agreed departure on Tuesday.
Sarr, 25, has one year left on his £100,000-a-week contract with the club but Pochettino exiled him from the first team entirely after deeming him surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino has been relieved of his duties by Chelsea after a year in charge
Malang Sarr (left) has been kept out of the first team picture entirely under Pochettino.
At the beginning of this year The Athletic reported that Sarr no longer has a locker in the first team building at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and is instead moving to train with the Under 21s.
He has not participated in Under 21 matches and when there are matches he trains alone or with other youth players.
A source said: “I have never seen him as low as this. This is the first time I have seen him like this. He is trying to change his mental state but it is difficult when you are not playing. He is no longer in the first team dressing room, he is with the boys in the other building.
“He feels outside the group. She tries to hide her feelings from her, but I know what she really feels.
“He loved playing with Tuchel. But some of the closest friends he made, like N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount, are gone. He goes to train because it is his job but I know that it is difficult for him because it will be difficult for any footballer who knows that he is not going to play games.”
Chelsea signed Sarr as a promising young player on a free transfer from 2020 before moving on loan to Porto and then Monaco.
He broke into Tuchel’s team in the 2021-22 season as a regular back-up option and played in Chelsea’s Club World Cup semi-final over Al-Hilal in Abu Dhabi.
But he has been completely out of the picture since Tuchel’s departure and suffered the ignominy of Pochettino replying “Who?” when asked about him at a press conference this season.