A player who won four Premier League titles at Manchester United has explained why new Chelsea star Jadon Sancho flopped at Old Trafford.
United spent £73m to bring Sancho to the club in 2021 after watching him excel in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and become an England regular.
Much was expected of the winger but he scored just three Premier League goals during his first season at United and then fell out of favour under Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag was critical of Sancho’s output in training and the pair were involved in a public bust-up before seemingly putting their problems to bed before the start of the current campaign.
But Ten Hag, who was sacked last month, continued to overlook Sancho before allowing the England international to complete a shock loan move to Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
Sancho has shown glimpses of his immense potential at Stamford Bridge – scoring two goals and providing three assists in six Premier League starts – and has been backed to be a ‘big asset’ to Chelsea by former United defender Mikael Silvestre.
As part of Chelsea’s loan move, Sancho will move to west London on a permanent deal next summer for around £25m.
Silvestre believes that will prove to be a ‘bargain’ for Chelsea but says Sancho failed at Manchester United because he was ‘not prepared to work hard’.
It would have been interesting to see if Sancho fared any better under new United manager Ruben Amorim, who replaced Ten Hag last month.
‘Jadon Sancho is playing with a smile on his face at Chelsea and he’s shown he can be a big asset after being loaned out by Manchester United,’ four-time Premier League winner Silvestre told BoyleSports.
‘He is positive again and has the belief of his coaches, he has competition but he is standing out. He may have not fit in at United under Ruben Amorim because he plays with the wing-back system.
‘Sancho is willing to work hard at Chelsea which wasn’t what he was prepared to do at United – he will be a bargain for them if they sign him on a permanent deal for around £25million.’
Ex-Dortmund star Sancho scored a superb goal in Chelsea’s thrilling 4-3 victory over London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
The Blues were widely tipped to struggle before the season started but Enzo Maresca’s side are currently second in the Premier League – four points behind Liverpool – and top of the Europa Conference League.
‘Going 2-0 down in the first half was not ideal but I knew we’d come back into the game when we got that first goal,’ Sancho said after Chelsea downed Spurs.
‘Going in at half-time, the gaffer was telling us we were in the game. I have so much belief in the players so I knew we’d come out firing.
‘They’re very aggressive and we knew we’d catch them if we broke the lines and beat the press. The gaffer told us to stay wide and create the one-on-ones.
‘I’ve been working on my shooting a bit more. The staff and the players have been telling me to be a bit more selfish in front of goal and shoot when I get in those positions.
‘I’ve been working on that, so I’m delighted. I know I have a lot of people to prove wrong and I’m working hard every day in training.
‘Once I get my opportunity I just try to show what I can do, so I’m happy that I scored and we got the three points for the team. I’m just taking it game-by-game and hopefully I can continue this form.’
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