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Jadon Sancho and Christopher Nkunku feature in your Chelsea round-up on Christmas Eve.
Chelsea winger Jadon Sancho has begun to flourish at Stamford Bridge on his loan spell from Manchester United and there should be nothing stopping the player becoming a fully-fledged Blues man next season.
The 24-year-old has bagged two Premier League goals this month and is looking a much more dangerous prospect than during his time at Old Trafford. Chelsea confirmed the loan signing of the player on August 31.
That was a loan-to-buy deal with the Blues obligated to sign Sancho permanently for £25 million at the end of the season but there can be complications with such arrangements between clubs. However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now given his verdict on the matter.
Writing exclusively for GiveMeSport, Romano said: “The English winger is considered a crucial part of the squad with Chelsea’s target to return to Champions League football in 2025, but one thing is guaranteed for sure: regardless of Chelsea’s final position in the Premier League table this season, Sancho will be at Cobham wearing blue next season and beyond.
“There’s no chance for Sancho to return to Manchester United at the end of the season, despite the arrival of new head coach Ruben Amorim who is well known for giving chances to several players even when they’re out of the project.
“This is not going to change anything in the agreement between Man United and Chelsea, with a deal in place since the end of August. They tried to make it work with players included, but Ben Chilwell was never a concrete option, while there was no chance for Man United to accept Raheem Sterling as part of the negotiation. The two clubs ended up closing the deal with Chelsea covering the main part of Sancho’s salary, plus a loan with an obligation to buy in the summer of 2025 for Financial Fair Play reasons.”
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Christopher Nkunku offered to Barcelona
Meanwhile, there has also been transfer talk of a high profile departure from Stamford Bridge this week. Christopher Nkunku has had a prolific start to the season with 12 goals in all competitions, but is still often having to play second fiddle to Nicolas Jackson in the Premier League.
It is now claimed that the talisman's agent has approached La Liga giants Barcelona about a potential move for the £52 million man, that's according to Spanish outlet SPORT.
The report adds that Nkunku's agent, Pini Zahavi, has a strong relationship with the Catalan outfit and that the player would be open to a wage cut to make the move happen. However, it's suggested that any January swoop would be financially complicated for Barcelona.
Nkunku wants more minutes.Nkunku wants more minutes.
Nkunku wants more minutes. | Getty Images
Speaking about the role of Nkunku in his squad, Enzo Maresca said in November: "Probably the best moment from Christo for us was in pre-season. For me that was because he was playing in his position, which is as a No.10 behind the striker, between the lines.
"Since we started the season, he is often playing as a nine for us. He also played the first Premier League game against Manchester City from the start as a winger, and we know that it’s not his best position.
"‘We know that Christo’s best position is between the lines as a 10, but Cole [Palmer] is playing there, and we are not going to play many games with Cole and Christo, or with Cole and Joao [Felix].
"We did it the other day, but you need balance and the Leicester plan won’t be the same as the Aston Villa plan. Or maybe it will, we don’t know, because now we are focused on this game against Heidenheim."
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