Jadon Sancho once felt destined to join Chelsea. A fan movement online was raised in 2019 to get him to the club along with Callum Hudson-Odoi (also known as CHO). It was dubbed #SanCHO.
Within two years he was playing for Manchester United. A childhood Chelsea fan who idolised Frank Lampard, born in London and a member of the Watford academy, a move to the capital made a lot of sense.
Sancho became one of the first to brave a transfer away from the safe haven of English football as a teenager, being picked up by Borussia Dortmund and leaving behind a Manchester City set-up on their way to developing Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, and Liam Delap (among countless others).
By the time Chelsea turned to Sancho as a deadline day option over the summer, the hype around him had nearly vanished. Across two-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford he had scored just 12 goals, assisting six. Compare that to his Bundesliga-only record at Dortmund and it is no surprise why Sancho was no longer spoken of in glowing terms.
In each of his three seasons as a regular in Germany he managed more goal contributions in the league alone than during his entire United career. A six-month loan from January 2024 looked to have ignited the spark again, but at 24, Sancho was somewhat of a risk.
He had fallen out with Erik ten Hag, been criticised for a lack of discipline, effort, and quality during most of his time back in Manchester, and was at the lowest ebb since becoming a senior professional. In fact, given his standing as a youngster at Watford - where Joe Shields first took note of him before reuniting at City and now Chelsea - it is arguably the least valuable he has ever been.
Chelsea saw a chance with Sancho, not only on a loan but also with a tiny maximum purchase option of just £25million - a third of what United paid for him three years ago - and have so far been repaid. Just how did Sancho drop and flop, though, and what were his problems?
Ten Hag spat
Sancho's end at United came just three games into last season when he was left out of the matchday squad for a trip to Arsenal. Ten Hag explained the decision bluntly.
"Because of his performance in training, we didn't select him," he said on live TV prior to kick-off. "You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United."
Sancho, wounded by the comments, hit back online. "I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue," he posted to Instagram. "I have conducted myself very well in training this week.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag gives instructions to Jadon Sancho (left). Erik ten Hag says Jadon Sancho’s sensational Champions League performance for Borussia Dortmund showed why Manchester United bought him and underlined his “high value” ahead of the summer. Issue date: Thursday May 2, 2024
Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag gives instructions to Jadon Sancho (Image: PA)
"I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into. I've been a scapegoat for a long time, which isn't fair." Ten Hag would never select Sancho again.
He was cut out of the squad, asked to apologise or be exiled. Feeling that Ten Hag himself needed to meet in the middle, somewhat, Sancho refused. A statement from the club read: "Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training programme away from the first-team group, pending resolution of a squad discipline issue."
With no such coming together or agreement, Sancho was loaned to Dortmund in January. Chelsea have been the other club to benefit since.
Time-keeping problems
During his time at Dortmund, playing for club and country, Sancho was no stranger to being late. In 2018, whilst away with England's Under-19 squad, Sancho was dropped for a match along with Foden after being late for training.
He was also known to be non-punctual when at Dortmund but never let it impact his performance levels. Former United teammate and ex-Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic claims he was 'always being late' when at Old Trafford as well.
“At Chelsea, players acted professionally, they were punctual and were never late for training but at United it happened almost every day," he said of the general discipline at the the two clubs. "Among the players who would always be late were Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho and a couple of other players.”
Matic added: “The rest of us who were always on time were angry so we decided to form a kind of an internal disciplinary committee with me serving as its president. I put a sheet of paper up on the wall where I documented the names of individuals arriving late. During one particular season we collected around £75,000 in fines. We had planned to use the money to throw a party in London but we didn’t due to the Covid outbreak.”
Break from football
In the build-up to the 2022 World Cup, which Sancho did not make the squad for, Ten Hag revealed that Sancho lacked the desired physical and mental fitness. He missed the last four club games before the tournament.
"He was not in the right status or fitness state," said Ten Hag at the time. "I have had several talks with Jadon. When the league started, he played some good games, but after we got a drop of levels. Sometimes you don't know why or what is causing it.
"Most of the time it comes slowly. First you observe but the stats back it up. In the start of the season he had goals and assists but his key moments and key actions became less and less. It's a combination of physical but also mental. We're trying to research and get him back."
Chelsea escape
Chelsea's late off to sign Sancho came after he had been made a part of Ten Hag's pre-season squad at United. He was reintegrated under the Dutchman and played during the tour of America but it did not solve the long-term issues.
United always planned for him to leave later on in the window and got their wish. Should Chelsea finish above 14th - now looking a formality, as expected - then Sancho will not have to return from his loan.
Even if new manager Ruben Amorim had a willingness to bring Sancho back and to offer him a lease of life, United no longer have the choice. Sancho is playing with a newfound freedom at Stamford Bridge and appears to be enjoying himself whilst not being the centre of attention.
He has all but said as much with the weight of expectation removed from his shoulders. Enzo Maresca spoke to Sancho prior to the transfer, cementing his demands that performance levels, energy, and discipline all remain in line with his standards. For now, there is no threat of Sancho breaking the promise he made.
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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