One day after “Deadline Day”, it finally worked out: Jadon Sancho leaves Manchester United again after his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund and joins Chelsea FC on loan, who have secured a deal to buy him.
“We had a good chat. Anyone can make a mistake. If the player thinks about it properly, then we’ll draw a line under it and move on,” Erik ten Hag said in mid-July about returning player Jadon Sancho. However, it appears that even this conversation was unable to improve the fractured relationship enough to ensure continued cooperation. Just over a month later, Sancho has once again turned his back on Manchester United.
As Chelsea FC announced on Saturday evening, Sancho will initially move to Stamford Bridge on loan – followed by a purchase commitment from Chelsea. Next summer, Sancho will move to London permanently for a sum of between 24 and 29 million euros (depending on the number of appearances) and sign a long-term contract with Chelsea.
On “deadline day”, both sides worked late into the night on the transfer. After the most important documents had been submitted by the 11 p.m. (local time) deadline, Chelsea had until 1 a.m. to submit the last missing documents – which the Londoners managed to do. The Londoners then made the transfer public on Saturday evening.
“I am very happy to be here,” said Sancho in an initial reaction. “London is the city where I grew up and I’m delighted to be back.” As a young player, he said he was particularly excited by the project that the Chelsea managers described to him: “I hope that at Stamford Bridge I can deliver goals and assists,” said Sancho.
When he transferred from Dortmund to Manchester in the summer of 2021, Sancho spoke of a dream come true. But in his dream, his stay with the Red Devils certainly turned out differently. At the latest since the dispute with ten Hag last season – the coach had criticized the Englishman’s training performance, who then accused him of lying and ultimately “fled” to Dortmund due to an exclusion from team training – it turned into a nightmare
A new turnaround in the league opener
However, after returning from his six-month loan to BVB, for whom he appeared 14 times (two goals, three assists) in the Bundesliga and seven times in the Champions League (one goal) in the second half of the season, he initially seemed to have a new lease of life. The 23-time England international was substituted in the closing stages of the Community Shield, among other matches.
However, things took a surprising turn just in time for the start of the league. From then on, Sancho was no longer part of the Red Devils’ matchday squad: while ten Hag explained his absence against Fulham with an ear infection, he said in Brighton that “Sancho has to fight for his place”. Sancho will now face this “fight” not in Manchester, but in his native London: He will compete in the Chelsea attacking back three with Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku and new signing Pedro Neto, among others.
