Chelsea swapped one retrogressing England international winger for another on transfer deadline day: Raheem Sterling (£6.8m) out, Jadon Sancho (£6.3m) in.
Sancho has signed for the Blues on loan for the rest of the campaign. The deal includes an obligation for Chelsea to buy the former Borussia Dortmund man next summer for around £20m-£25m.
Sancho’s fall from grace has been steep. The 24-year-old attacking midfielder commanded a reported £73m transfer fee when signing for Manchester United three years ago.
He entered Fantasy Premier League (FPL) at £9.5m, too, spectacularly failing to live up to expectations.
Now, back in his native London and playing under a manager he has spoken highly of, can he kickstart his career? And, given his experience playing on the right wing, will Sancho be a threat to the 11.5%-owned Noni Madueke (£6.6m)?
We mull this over in our latest Moving Target article.
Jadon Sancho: The History
SANCHO’S LEAGUE RECORD
| Season | Team | Starts (Sub apps) |
Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Borussia Dortmund | 11(3) | 2 | 2 |
| 2023/24 | Manchester United | 0(3) | 0 | 0 |
| 2022/23 | Manchester United | 21(5) | 6 | 3 |
| 2021/22 | Manchester United | 20(9) | 3 | 4 |
| 2020/21 | Borussia Dortmund | 24(2) | 8 | 11 |
| 2019/20 | Borussia Dortmund | 25(7) | 17 | 16 |
| 2018/19 | Borussia Dortmund | 26(8) | 12 | 14 |
| 2017/18 | Borussia Dortmund | 7(5) | 1 | 4 |
Sancho’s young career has been a tale of two halves since leaving Manchester City’s academy aged 17.
Much like Cole Palmer (£10.6m), there was immediate vindication for his decision. He established himself as one of the hottest wingers in Europe during three fruitful seasons at Borussia Dortmund, registering 38 goals and 45 assists in 104 Bundesliga appearances.
Unfortunately, things went downhill in the summer of 2021. Firstly, Sancho missed a crucial penalty in England’s Euro 2020 final defeat. He then moved to Manchester United, where he scored just nine goals in 58 Premier League appearances over two and a half seasons.
After a public spat with Eric ten Hag, he returned to Dortmund on loan last January. Back on familiar soil, he bagged three goals, two assists and a Champions League runners-up medal.
In Quotes
“Jadon is a player, he is here because we like that kind of player – especially against a low block like today [Crystal Palace in Gameweek 4].” – Enzo Maresca
“They’re signing me for a reason and to contribute to the team, and I’m ready to do that.
“‘I think it’s the manager who really drew me to the project. I knew him from his time with Pep Guardiola in Manchester City. He spoke to me on the phone about this project and what he was building here, and for a young player like myself it’s exciting and I can’t wait to get started.
“I enjoy his style of play. The wingers when they get on the ball, he loves them to go one versus one and be direct.
“I want to bring goals and assists.” – Jadon Sancho
Where Sancho fits in at Chelsea – and is he a threat to Madueke?
On the surface, it looks like a fool’s game trying to predict the minutes of Chelsea’s attackers. However, when you cut through the hyperbole around the volume of players, some patterns are emerging.
Nicolas Jackson (£7.6m) plays up front and Palmer will feature as a right winger or as the no. 10. That leaves one or two spots to be filled, with Madueke and Pedro Neto (£6.5m) having favouritism at the moment.
When you couple Maresca’s post-match comments with his substitutions in Gameweek 4 against Crystal Palace, some green shoots around Sancho’s expected minutes begin to emerge.
With Chelsea looking for a goal, Joao Felix (£6.5m) was introduced on the left and Christopher Nkunku (£6.2m) on the right, replacing Neto and Madueke respectively. Neither Felix nor Nkunku are what you would call a ‘Maresca winger’, i.e. one that stays wide to receive the ball. They are more effective playing more centrally as a 10 or attacking eight.
As shown in the quote above, the manager has highlighted Sancho’s potential against low blocks and suggested he would have been effective against Crystal Palace last weekend. One suspects he would have been the preferred substitution had he been registered in time for the match.
Chelsea encounter plenty of low blocks, especially at Stamford Bridge. Historically, they have struggled against these types of defences. Home defeats last season against Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers immediately spring to mind.
If Maresca does adopt a horse-for-courses selection policy, Sancho may get the nod in fixtures like this ahead of Neto, whose pace makes him more suited to open games.
There’s another reason we said Neto and not Madueke.
As shown from this Transfermarkt graphic, Sancho can play effectively on both sides of the attack. This gives him multiple routes into the starting XI:
However, the left is his favoured flank.
It’s where the most changes have been at Chelsea this season, too. Mykhailo Mudryk (£6.4m), Nkunku and Neto have all started one league game apiece there. Mudryk has been singled out for criticism by Maresca already, while Nkunku – as discussed – isn’t really an out-and-out winger.
And media reports before and after the signing suggest it’s on the left where he’ll be predominantly used.
🚨 Chelsea complete signing of Jadon Sancho from Manchester United. 24yo winger leaves #MUFC on season-long loan + obligation to buy at £20-25m depending on performance milestones. #CFC to deploy England international primarily on left flank @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/Lhd47F5Xdc
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) August 31, 2024
That doesn’t mean Madueke is completely out of the woods, with not just Sancho but also Neto capable of operating on the right.
The former Wolves man has a similar split to Sancho in terms of right/left appearances, so there is a way for Maresca to accommodate Neto and Sancho into his starting XI – at Madueke’s expense.
The FPL Prospects
FPL initially priced Sancho up, then an unwanted Manchester United player, as a £6.5m midfielder. In the first three Gameweeks, he has fallen to £6.3m.
By moving to south-west London, he has joined the plethora of Chelsea mid-priced midfielders that includes Mudryk, Neto, Nkunku, Madueke and Joao Felix. While there may be very little interest right now, Madueke showed in Gameweek 2 that it only takes one haul to become an option for our teams.
Speaking as a Chelsea fan, I’ve no doubt that the inconsistent nature of the Blues’ young squad will mean Sancho gets a chance at some point. It could come sooner rather than later if Madueke and Neto get significant minutes over the international break.
The one thing in Sancho’s favour is he has demonstrated consistency in the past (at least in Germany), meaning if he does become FPL-relevant, it may be more than a flash-in-the-pan bandwagon.
For now, it’s watch and wait to see if he can get back to his Borussia Dortmund best. If he does, then £6.3m will prove exceptionally good value.
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