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The Manchester United loanee has seen much more regular game time at Chelsea than when at Old Trafford.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was asked to confront the future of Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho in his pre-match press conference ahead of taking on Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.
Ange Postecoglou’s side make the short trip to Stamford Bridge with the hosts still having plenty to fight for this season. Chelsea sit fourth in the top flight, eight points off Nottingham Forest and the top three but just one point above Manchester City and two points ahead of Newcastle United.
Having been touted as potential title challengers to Liverpool at one point this season, failing to reach Champions League qualification would be a huge blow for Maresca, who has enjoyed a steady first campaign since arriving at Chelsea from Leicester City last summer. The Blues finished sixth last season under Mauricio Pochettino and are looking for an improvement under the Italian.
Enzo Maresca asked about Jadon Sancho transfer
Maresca was backed with money ahead of the 2024/25 campaign with splurges on stars such as Filip Jorgensen, Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The club also made the most of the loan market with Sancho arriving from Manchester United.
Sancho has played 23 times for Chelsea in the Premier League so far this season and is a regular under Maresca, despite having managed just two goals and five assists. The former Borussia Dortmund has been afforded 1,433 minutes in the league, having spent part of last season back on loan at Dortmund.
When completing a loan move to Chelsea, that deal came with the obligation for the London club to buy Sancho should they finish 14th or higher in the Premier League. That fee is set to be around £25 million but Mail Sport had claimed that, despite the clause, Sancho could still end up back at Manchester United.
When asked about the player’s future, a coy Maresca said: “What happens in the summer, we will see. I am happy with all the players we have.”
He added: “I love all the players who are part of this squad. Full focus now is to finish well and not think about next season.”
Sancho, who signed for Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund for £73 million in 2021, is without a goal contribution in his last 13 outings but has maintained the support of Maresca.
Manchester United loanee backed by Chelsea manager
Speaking in January, Maresca went as far as to suggest the Manchester United loanee was exceeding expectations in west London. He told the club website: “For me he’s doing very well.
“I am quite surprised with Jadon, because I knew Jadon already [from seeing him at his previous clubs] and I know what I expected from him, but in terms of being consistent, he’s doing very well. Apart from a short part of the season when he had some problems, when he was out ill, then for the rest he has been very good.
“I expected him to do well, but for all the players doing well for a long period is not easy, and he has been doing well for a long period already. He’s doing well, now he just needs to continue going in that way.”
In other news, this is what former Chelsea man Emmanuel Petit has had to say about Jadon Sancho this week.
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