Chelsea complete fourth major signing of the summer

Chelsea have announced the arrival of French defender Malang Sarr on a free transfer.

The 21-year-old had been out of contract after ending his association with Nice last month and he was linked with the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona before the Blues stepped up to sign him.

"He is a tremendous prospect and we will be monitoring him closely during his loan period, hoping he will soon be back at Chelsea. We are very happy to welcome him to the club today," director Marina Granovskaia told the club's official website.

Sarr graduated through the youth system at Nice and he made his debut at the tender age of 17. He made 119 appearances for the Ligue 1 side across all competitions, but decided to part ways once his contract expired in June this year.

The France youth international has put pen-to-paper on a five-year contract with the west London giants. He is expected to spend the forthcoming campaign on loan in order to gain more first-team experience. A number of clubs from Germany have enquired regarding his availability.

He becomes the club's fourth signing after the arrivals of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell. The Blues are also on the cusp of landing Thiago Silva on a free transfer. The 35-year-old is expected to join them on an initial one-year contract this week.