On most levels, this has not been a standout season for Jadon Sancho. He has only scored five times in all competitions with just three of those coming in the Premier League.
With 10 assists in total, this is his fifth best domestic return in his senior career. He played fewer minutes (just shy of 1,800) than at Manchester United in his first year, and less than his three breakout seasons at Borussia Dortmund.
Sancho scored three in the league, which is the same as his disappointing 2021/22 debut season at United and half of what he managed the year after. The 25-year-old started just over half of the league games (20) featuring in 29.
His numbers are bolstered by Conference League appearances and a strong showing in the later rounds. From the quarter-finals he scored twice and assisted three more on Chelsea's run to winning the first major trophy since Roman Abramovich left the club.
What this has represented for Sancho is a restart. After falling down the pecking order at United and needing a loan, this was a cathartic season of sorts. He returned to London and linked up with faces from the past, including, importantly, Joe Shields.
From an unlikely deal being pursued late on over the summer to finding his feet quickly, Sancho has had a typically Sancho year. Many from United will say his relative lack of output - especially against better opposition and outside of the Conference League - is closer to his level. He has also played a pretty big role for Chelsea when injuries and suspensions have left them short.
Operating off both wings, Sancho is useful in his versatility if not always his directness and aggression towards goal. A run of 13 games without a shot on target at the end of 2024 and start of 2025 summed up his tentativeness that flowed throughout the team.
Sancho has been useful if not always impactful, regardless. The question Chelsea will be asking is whether that is worth the £25million they will have to pay to make his loan into a permanent signing.
If they don't see him as worthwhile then it will cost £5million to send him back to United, essentially acting as an extra loan fee for the season. Crucially, nothing has yet been decided.
"We are going to sit with the club and decide what happens for next year," Maresca said earlier this week. "It is normal in a season to go a little bit up and down, it is part of the game."
He was further pressed after the Conference League final. "I don’t know [what will happen]," Maresca admitted. "I said that when in the last weeks you asked me about different players, I always said the same. And the reason why is because it’s the truth.
"At this moment, there is not any thought or any decision made on Jadon or any different players." He also gave a timeline for what is going to follow.
"Tomorrow, we have the final and then in the next 24 or 48 hours we will talk about the future but no decision has been made on Jadon or any other player." Chelsea, we know, are keen to act decisively in the market.
Jadon Sancho of Chelsea poses for a photograph with the UEFA Conference League trophy
Jadon Sancho faces an uncertain future at Chelsea with his loan spell from Manchester United set to end next month (Image: Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Their hopes to do business at the top end of their pay scale have been boosted by qualifying for the Champions League. That offers them more money and added incentives for players to join.
Liam Delap has already signalled his intentions to move to Stamford Bridge, preferring that to alternatives including Manchester United and Newcastle United. Chelsea's final day win at Nottingham Forest, which helped them into fourth spot, is a big part of swaying Delap.
For Sancho, he is settled at Chelsea and has always looked comfortable at SW6. He has strong relationships with many of the players, who fall into his age bracket (or mainly younger) and occupy the same demographic. Like Levi Colwill, Noni Madueke, and Reece James, Sancho has spent a lot of time in London.
He is happy at the club but would have to negotiate a new contract should the call be made to extend his stay. Chelsea and United are currently paying his huge wages between them but Sancho is no longer a first-team or world star like he was when leaving Dortmund in 2021.
That will come with a significant pay cut to align Sancho with the current model at Chelsea as well as a changed squad role. Whether that is worth the cost and if Sancho would agree to it remains to be seen.
What is clear is that things are going to move fast. Chelsea want to get as much done as possible before the Club World Cup starts and, along with Delap, resolving Sancho's future will be a priority.
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Chelsea Conference League Champions