A wing-half, Sorrell made four appearances for the club in the early 1960s and scored one goal, in an FA Cup tie away at Manchester United.Born in Lambeth in south London, Sorrell joined Chelsea from Leyton Orient in March 1962 for the fee of £10,000. He made his debut that same month in a draw at home to Birmingham City and the following season yielded one appearance too, that FA Cup match at Old Trafford which was a 2-1 defeat.

It was the year a vibrant young Chelsea side under the stewardship of Tommy Docherty won promotion back to the top division and despite being a strong tackling player, Sorrell was in competition for a place in the team with emerging stars such as Terry Venables and Ron Harris.He made two First Division appearances in 1963/64, a local derby win at Fulham and, to finish his Chelsea career in the way it had started, a game against Birmingham at Stamford Bridge.Near the start of the following season, Sorrell returned to Leyton Orient for whom his two spells for the Brisbane Road club added up to over 100 games. He also played non-league football in east London, where he passed away this week three days after his 79th birthday.Chelsea sends our deepest condolences to Dennis’s family and friends.