Jadon Sancho, trained at Chelsea with his new coaching staff the entire week. The ex-Manchester United man has impressed Enzo Maresca. After he helped Dortmund make it to the UCL final there were reports that his relationship with Erik Ten Hagg was better now. Even though he was playing during the preseason, by the end of the transfer window it was evident he would leave the club. The 24-year is on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season for 20-25 million pounds. After a forgettable time at Old Trafford, the English winger is looking for a fresh start at Chelsea. In spite of his failures at Manchester, the winger’s recent success at Dortmund proves that he can play amongst Europe’s best. As Jadon Sancho trained at Cobham for the entire international break he looks set to debut at the Vitality Stadium this weekend.
Maresca’s comments on Jadon Sancho
After this week’s training, Maresca made comments about what he liked about Jadon Sancho. He said that Sancho’s performances were just what he expected from the winger. He is impressed by the winger’s ability to attack opponents in one-on-one situations and quality decision-making in the final 3rd. Jadon Sancho was excited to join Chelsea, he revealed that he was a childhood fan and is happy to be back in London, his hometown. He talked to the manager about the project which he believes is exciting for young players like him. Chelsea looks average when teams sit back and defend. This is where Jadon Sancho can come in to help the team and also himself. Sancho is excellent at using width, his ability to hold the ball and dribble through multiple defenders is a luxury. He can help Maresca create 2 v 1 overloads on the wings and get past defensive lines. His play has impressed his new boss and he looks ready to get some game time this weekend. He was used at one position during training and that was on the left, this makes it look like Maresca knows exactly what he wants from the English winger.
His fit in Maresca’s system
Jadon Sancho has played on the left wing in training but he can play on the right too. Under Maresca’s system, the wing positions are of supreme importance. He was very clear about the kind of wingers he didn’t want when he moved on from Sterling. Looking at the games Chelsea have played, it seems like Maresca wants wingers to attack the byline stretching the defense. That is why he prefers Madueke over Nkunku on the right. Nkunku, just like Raheem Sterling looks to attack the goal instead of stretching the opposition’s defense by attacking the byline. After seeing this, it seems he had a role planned for Jadon Sancho. He is one of the best in the world at dribbling along the byline and not losing the ball cheaply. Sancho’s decision-making in the final third is elite and his assist numbers speak for themselves. The only problem is the abundance of wingers at Chelsea. For players like Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Jadon Sancho, and Joao Felix, the battle for a starting spot is fierce. The competition is tough but Sancho fits perfectly in the system. Maresca like any coach needs some time to get his ideas embedded into the player’s minds but there have been periods in games where his team has looked in control of the game, something that was lacking at Chelsea last year. The large player pool available to Maresca might make him take more time than usual to identify his best eleven.
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