Chelsea have secured the services of winger Jadon Sancho. The acquisition of the ex-Manchester United man has bolstered the Chelsea frontline even more. With a bunch of talented young players to choose from, Chelsea have added another versatile wide attacker. Jadon Sancho’s career in Manchester never took off, his move to Chelsea can make this deal look like a steal. Sancho, who was on 250,000 pounds per week during his time at Manchester United took a pay cut. His move to Chelsea can help rejuvenate his career after everything that went wrong at Old Trafford.
Jadon Sancho: Manchester United and Erik Ten Hag
Jadon Sancho never got going, his 18 goal involvements in 83 matches for the Red Devils (according to Transfermarkt) is an accurate reflection of his time in the Premier League with Manchester United. He joined in July of 2021 for a fee of 73 million pounds, making a blockbuster switch from Borussia Dortmund. There he formed a formidable trio with Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham, the three were regarded as generational talents. After the switch to Manchester United, he was the new face of the team but that lasted for just 4 weeks. With Cristiano Ronaldo signing for the club, Jadon Sancho’s minutes became limited. The central positions that he, Rashford and Greenwood used to interchange amongst each other, now belonged to CR7. Moreover, the pressing job became twice as tough, and he wasn’t the best at it either. His time at every club that he played for was filled with coaches complaining about his outlook towards training. Two quick managerial changes, dip in form and 3-months away from the team later he still wasn’t looking good. Consistently underperforming, being late to training let to rifts between him and Erik Ten Hag. With a lot of things going wrong for him and the club at the time, Jadon Sancho did not do well at Old Trafford. Less than 3 years after joining the club, Sancho was back to Borussia Dortmund on loan in January 2024.
The Chelsea connection
Jadon Sancho’s move to Stamford Bridge on the surface looks like a tactical need but it’s more than that. Raheem Sterling has left, and with no solid starter at the left-wing Chelsea are playing roulette with their wingers. Madueke, Mudryk and Neto are the wide options whereas Nkunku and Felix tend to drift towards center. This is where Jadon Sancho comes in as the perfect hybrid, his blistering pace, dribble moves and the ability to time crosses to perfection will help Maresca have a versatile winger on the left, he can recycle possessions, run on counters, set up as well as finish plays. Playing Sancho on the left will allow Chelsea to play their star Cole Palmer on his preferred right side. Palmer on the right also frees up Nkunku to play at his position of choice which is at the 10. With players like Jackson, Madueke, Neto, Felix, Mudryk, and Sancho all fighting for two spots the going could get tough. On the contrary, we could see him start for Chelsea as early as the next league game, away at Bournemouth as Jadon Sancho will get the entire international break to train with his new teammates and coaches.
The big question remains, Can Jadon Sancho become the player that we all know he could be? or would it be an extension of his time at Manchester? In that case, Chelsea would have no problem in moving on from him, having paid just 20-25 million pounds. It wouldn’t be a problem for them to find a suitable buyer for a similar price.
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