The winger's performance in the Conference League final has given Chelsea plenty of food for thought as he decides his next move this summer
In a five-minute blur, Real Betis went from leading a European final to being Cole Palmered, but at 2-1 they still had hope. Alas, it was only fleeting.
Jadon Sancho had had an indifferent spell on loan at Chelsea, in keeping with his last three-and-a-half seasons since returning to English football, but when Betis led in Wroclaw, Enzo Maresca summoned the winger from his bench to help tilt the tide in his team’s favour.
It was a good call, with Sancho injecting energy and pace into Chelsea’s attack at a time when a weary Betis backline was starting to creak.
Chelsea won thanks to the Palmer show, their revitalised No 10 producing two stunning assists from both feet to transform the game, but Sancho settled the nerves and got the party in Poland started with the clinching goal seven minutes from time.
It was quintessential Sancho in its execution, as if someone had taken a clip of him during his Dortmund days and slapped a blue filter on top of it.
Receiving the ball on the left-hand side of the penalty area, Sancho squared up Youssouf Sabaly and Marc Bartra, nimbly worked a half yard of space between them both, and curled a brilliant finish past Adrian into the top corner.
Off came the shirt in celebration. Off came the shirt in relief. A European champion at last.
It was the third time lucky in a Uefa final for the 25-year-old. In 2021, he endured the agony of a missed penalty in England’s Euros shootout defeat to Italy, and was then subjected to vile racist abuse. Last year, he was defeated at Wembley again for Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Sancho has turned into a sort of meme figure since his big-money move to Manchester United turned sour. He has been pilloried for his perceived lack of application and dedication, becoming a poster boy of plateaued potential.
Some criticism is fair – Sancho evidently has not lived up to his golden boy tag under a succession of managers – other bits less so, but only Sancho’s harshest critics could begrudge him his golden moment in a golden game.
Now, attentions turn to what happens next. Afterwards Sancho was seen comforting a tearful Antony, another once prodigious winger starting afresh after being chewed up and spat out by Dysfunction FC.
The joke doing the rounds on social media after was that they were both crying because they have to report back to Carrington for pre-season.
As reported by The i Paper in March, Chelsea have been weighing up whether to pay a “significant fee” to their domestic rivals to wriggle out of a £25m obligatory purchase that the Blues agreed to pay United if they finished 14th or higher in the Premier League – a feat they accomplished comfortably by 10 places.
It would be a virtually unprecedented step that wouldn’t reflect particularly well on a talent once regarded as the Robin to Erling Haaland’s Batman when the two were tormenting Bundesliga defences in black and yellow.
Sancho, who doesn’t always help himself with his social media activity, posted a picture of himself on X grinning with his medal, Conference League trophy in the foreground, with a fingers crossed emoji for a caption.
Trying to deduce a footballer’s intentions through the medium of emojis is a task that even the great detectives would struggle with, but the message may have been along the lines of: Please let me stay or even please don’t make me go back.
🤞🏼 pic.twitter.com/TFXTi5jVmP
— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) May 29, 2025
Maresca was elusive when asked whether Sancho had done enough to earn his spot in the squad next season.
“From now on, we sit down with the club and decide about next year,” Maresca told TNT Sports.
“Jadon Sancho, if we finished fourth, it’s also because of Jadon [his efforts as part of a squad], if we won tonight, it’s because of Jadon.
“I think it’s normal during the season to have ups and downs, it’s part of the game.”
A decision will need to be made quickly, though, with Chelsea’s never-ending campaign continuing on 16 June against Mexican side Club Leon in Atlanta in Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup competition.
Admittedly, a return of three goals and four assists in 31 Premier League appearances (19 starts) doesn’t present the most compelling case to keep him.
It seems unlikely, although not completely impossible, that Sancho will ever scale the heights predicted of him when he was a teen and in his early 20s. Back then, the sky was the limit; now a ceiling has been put in place below the clouds.
But Sancho has been a useful squad player at Stamford Bridge and as seen against Betis is capable of producing big moments on big nights.
Much may depend on how willing he is to reduce his £250,000 weekly wages to remain in west London. Considering his reluctance to return to Manchester, it may be a sacrifice he has to take for the good of his career, whether he remains at Chelsea or goes elsewhere.
“I think Chelsea should sign Jadon Sancho. He has been an important factor to the squad, and in parts of the season, he has been the catalyst for the team,” West Ham’s Michail Antonio said as a pundit on TNT Sports.
“I think he would be a good signing and would help them to keep pushing next season and what is to come.”