The 20-year-old joined Chelsea in June from Strasbourg and made his debut during our triumphant Club World Cup campaign. 

He returned to Strasbourg on loan in August but, after making 18 appearances for the Ligue 1 club and winning the African Cup of Nations with Senegal, was recalled by the Blues on the final day of the winter transfer window. 

Sarr has been given time to reacclimatise after returning to London and was an unused substitute in our Premier League games against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United.  

However, Rosenior says the centre-back will be utilised, potentially from the off, against Hull. 

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Blues head coach said: ‘Mamadou has a great chance to start the game.

‘It’s very difficult for a player in January to move clubs, but the great thing for Mamadou is he’s been here before, he knows me very well, and knows my expectations and demands with the players.

‘He’s only been here for a week, so he needs time to bed in and acclimatise, but I think he’s in a really good place and he’ll definitely see the pitch at some point on Friday.’ 

While Sarr is still in the early stages of his Chelsea journey, another French-born centre-back, Wesley Fofana, is midway through his fourth campaign at Stamford Bridge. 

Not all of those have been easy, with injuries impacting the 25-year-old, but he has made 24 appearances this term and recently started in back-to-back games against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and away to Wolves. 

Rosenior highlighted that progress when he faced the media and praised Fofana’s undoubted quality.

‘Wes has had injury issues and I want to make sure he doesn’t break down again because he’s an outstanding player,’ explained Rosenior.

‘For the first time in a long time, he played back-to-back games from midweek to the weekend. So that is a really positive sign. The aim for every player is to build them so they can play every game. 

‘We’re not quite there yet, but with the medical team I work with and the way we’re working, I’m confident we can get there.’

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