Robin Bairner
Jadon Sancho, Chelsea, 2024/25
© IMAGO
After a difficult spell at Manchester United, it’s all going rather well for Jadon Sancho during his loan stint at Chelsea – to such an extent that he is threatening to end the Stamford Bridge career of Mykhailo Mudryk.
Although Sancho has had a stop-start beginning to the season with the Blues, who he joined on loan from Man Utd late in the summer transfer window, when he has taken to the field, he has typically delivered.
This was underscored in Chelsea’s Conference League encounter with Heidenheim on Thursday. The winger fashioned both the Blues’ goals, including Mudryk’s effort that sealed the points.
It was a move finished beautifully by the Ukraine international, who swept a low pass into the top corner of the net. These moments, though, have been notoriously too few and far between from Mudryk, who is finding his spot at Stamford Bridge coming under increasing pressure from Sancho.
It’s undeniable that Mudryk has been one of the best players in the Conference League this season. In four games, he has three goals and three assists, yet this is not the yardstick by which Chelsea want to be measuring themselves.
European football for the Blues is something of a sideshow for the Premier League side currently. They are playing teams well below their level, and while they have dispatched them professionally, in reality it would be an enormous shock if they were not to go deep in the competition even using a much-changed side.
While it would be wrong to dismiss Mudryk’s contribution as worthless, Chelsea should have a player putting up this kind of numbers.
Heidenheim were their toughest opponents to date, so Sancho returning from injury to deliver a couple of assists was more eye-catching.
Certainly, he won the praise of manager Enzo Maresca.
“I’m very happy with Jadon. He can be crucial player for us,” the Italian said post-match.
Sancho, after all, has shown a capacity to cut it in the Premier League with the Blues. In five starts in that arena, he has delivered three assists.
Mudryk, meanwhile, has yet to offer a single goal contribution this season, albeit from largely fleeting cameos off the bench. But it’s telling he’s been at the club for nearly two years and delivered just four Premier League assists in well over 2000 minutes – just one more than Sancho in a matter of weeks.
With both primarily occupying the left flank, it’s abundantly clear that if it came down to a choice between Mudryk and Sancho who the winner would be. And that’s simply the latest blow to the Ukrainian’s longevity at Chelsea.