There is no guarantee that Jadon Sancho will be a Chelsea player next season, even if the Blues sign him permanently this summer.
Sancho joined Chelsea from Manchester United on an initial loan deal last August, but the former have an obligation to buy him if they finish above 14th.
However, there is always the possibility of Chelsea purchasing the winger before offloading him in the same transfer window, which has not been ruled out.
Chelsea can terminate their agreement to sign Sancho permanently by paying a penalty fee to United, but owning the 25-year-old for a short period of time could actually help them to land one of their targets.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Chelsea should offer Jadon Sancho in swap deal for Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens
According to Bild, Sancho wants to return to Borussia Dortmund after two spells with the German club.
That desire to go back to his former side could really benefit Chelsea, with the Blues interested in signing Jamie Gittens.
It has been claimed that Chelsea have already started working on a deal for Gittens, who has also been linked to other English clubs.
Sancho, though, could now give Chelsea the advantage in any potential transfer tussle for the 20-year-old.
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Dortmund are said to be monitoring Sancho’s situation, so they also look open to a reunion. It could make sense, then, for Chelsea to sign Sancho permanently and then offer him in some kind of swap deal for Gittens.
It is thought that Chelsea are prepared to buy and then offload Sancho, so the above does not sound like an impossible scenario.
Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images
How Jadon Sancho and Jamie Gittens compare
If you are going off this season alone, then Gittens would be an upgrade on Sancho for Chelsea.
The Dortmund star has looked way more threatening than his compatriot, scoring more goals and completing more dribbles on average. “He is unbelievably strong in one on ones,” Pascal Gross was quoted as saying by the Bundesliga’s official website last year.
Gittens has played more minutes, but Sancho has still had plenty of opportunities under Enzo Maresca. He has just not made the most of them.
Player League games Minutes Goals Assists xG Shots per game Dribbles per game
Jadon Sancho 23 1,434 2 4 1.74 0.8 1.8
Jamie Gittens 26 1,622 7 3 4.47 1.9 2.9
Via Jadon Sancho’s WhoScored and Jamie Gittens’ WhoScored pages
If Chelsea do go on to sign Sancho permanently and then offer him in a swap deal for Gittens, you cannot imagine too many Chelsea fans saying no to that.