A marquee signing could be arriving at Chelsea.A marquee signing could be arriving at Chelsea.
A marquee signing could be arriving at Chelsea. | Getty Images
Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho will not be returning to Chelsea on a permanent transfer.
Chelsea have decided not to invest £25 million to bring Jadon Sancho to the club permanently this summer. Instead, the winger is to return to parent club Manchester United and the Blues will pay a £5 million penalty for not holding their end of the loan-to-buy bargain.
It’s an interesting move from the London outfit and one that fans should, in fact, be really excited about. On the surface, the Sancho loan deal could look a costly mistake but that is not the main story here.
Sancho’s loan spell at Chelsea was fine. The forward didn’t prove a revelation but he was a reliable option for Enzo Maresca. There was always the feeling that Sancho could offer more but, with five goals and 10 assists, it wouldn’t have been too surprising to see Chelsea pay £25 million for his services.
Chelsea pay £5 million to return Jadon Sancho to Man Utd
Instead, the club have forked out £5 million just for the privilege of not buying the player. Having paid no initial loan fee, that sum is perhaps not quite as painful as first thought, and is a small figure to lose if greater is to come.
Chelsea had been coughing up £300,000 a week for Sancho’s lofty Manchester United wages and by losing £5 million off their current transfer fund, they will earn that back in less than a third of a season. It leaves space for that wage to be taken by someone else too.
Sancho could have continued life at Chelsea without too many batting an eye but the club clearly want something better in that position. It’s a must-recruit area for the side, with Noni Madueke supposedly transfer listed as well as Sancho leaving. Given the situation around Mykhailo Mudryk, that only leaves Pedro Neto as the concrete option.
Chelsea fans have reason for excitement
The purchase of Sancho would have been an easy fix but, taking the hard route to recruitment shows ambition. The Telegraph have linked Chelsea with a £50 million move for Borussia Dortmund, for example.
At just 20 years old, he’s a starlet with the best part of his career ahead of him. Already a regular in the Bundesliga and blooded in the Champions League, it’s an exciting transfer rumour. Other linked players including Nico Williams and Alejandro Garnacho are also more tantalising options than the steady Sancho.
There’s extra reason to be excited too as a replacement for Sancho could be imminent. The Telegraph suggested that the pursuit of Gittens came with the hope of being finalised before the Club World Cup and there’s no doubt Chelsea will want a winger in by then. The Blues’ chiefs are known to be keen to impress at that tournament - the BBC claimed that the event is ‘viewed seriously’ at Stamford Bridge because of the revenue it can generate through a total $1 billion prize pot for all clubs, as well as the marketing opportunities to reach a global audience.
In other news, Genius deal means Chelsea effectively paid just £350,000 for Jadon Sancho 'penalty fee'.
Continue Reading