Things are moving quickly for Mamadou Sarr. The 20-year-old is already an AFCON winner - having only made his senior international debut in November - while he has impressed in his first few Chelsea starts since returning from his loan at the start of February. No wonder he is enjoying his whirlwind few months!
The defender returned to Chelsea in early February from a loan spell at Strasbourg. Midway through that month, he featured for Senegal in both the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final and final, with clean sheets kept and silverware secured.
Since then, Sarr has made his full Chelsea debut – in the FA Cup win at Hull City – and sampled Premier League football for the first time.
‘Life is good, life is going fast!’ he smiled.
‘Two months ago I was in Strasbourg, in the French league, and now I’m in the Premier League. It’s a dream come true. I won the Club World Cup with Chelsea [in the summer] and went back to Strasbourg to learn more and to play games.
‘Then I got my first cap in the national team which made me and my family very happy. Then to win the AFCON was a crazy thing. And then I went back to Chelsea! So it’s going crazy fast, but I am enjoying it.’
Coming back to the Bridge fresh off the Lions of Teranga’s sensational continental success in Morocco understandably boosted Sarr’s confidence. He felt it prepared him perfectly for the rigours of the Premier League.
‘AFCON helped me a lot to get ready for the football here in England,’ said Sarr.
‘There was a lot of pressure, especially in the semi-final and the final. There are a lot of players at AFCON who play in the Premier League, so the level is great.
‘There was a lot of pressure playing against Arsenal [in his first Premier League start] because they are the leaders, and knowing I can play at AFCON makes me think I can play in the Premier League.’
Sarr’s assimilation has been aided by Liam Rosenior, who he first worked with at Strasbourg last season. The youngster is grateful to our head coach and his assistants for their advice and help, and says he is continuing to learn plenty under their leadership at Cobham.
On a collective level, the business end of the season is upon us, and another vital fixture beckons at the Bridge today. Should we defeat Newcastle we will move up to the third in the table ahead of Manchester United’s fixture with Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. Sarr’s target is clear.
‘We have to win every game. We have dropped too many points in the last few games,' he said.
‘The battle for the Champions League will be hard, but we are Chelsea and we have to win this weekend.’