Jadon Sancho is still raising eyebrows. No longer in surprise following his deadline-day move to Chelsea, however, but rather in awe thanks to his displays across the seven weeks since. Particularly in the stands of Stamford Bridge.
The decline, it would appear, is over. Sancho already has as many assists in 263 minutes for Chelsea this season as he managed in 2,433 across all competitions at Manchester United in 2022-23.
That is merely the headline statistic of a player who has grafted his way into Enzo Maresca’s plans, the winger having started their last three Premier League games after his impressive cameo off the bench in the 1-0 win at Bournemouth.
“He was very good. I have a feeling that Jadon is a guy that needs love,” Maresca said after that Bournemouth match, Sancho’s first Premier League appearance for 12 months.
“This is what I thought when I spoke with him before he joined us. Also I know he has the desire to show the player he is, but for me, it is just to enjoy football. This is the reason why they play.”
Maresca touches on what could well be the crucial component, beyond the evident talent the 24-year-old has shown flashes of throughout his career, and that is love.
Sancho is a boyhood Chelsea fan who grew up idolising Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, two legends of the Premier League era adored in this pocket of London, and though it is very early days it looks like he is relishing the opportunity to follow in their footsteps.
“That’s going to play into it,” former Chelsea winger Joe Cole said on TNT Sports last month, regarding the “technically gifted” Sancho’s love for the club.
A personal touch
You’ll find that love, actually, is all around, for Maresca’s care and attention has been the key to unlocking Sancho, a player with whom he wanted to work with, and crucially, vice-versa.
“I think it’s the manager,” Sancho said after joining Chelsea on loan.
“I knew him from when I was at Manchester City and when he was with Pep [Guardiola]. He spoke to me on the phone about his project and what he was building here and, for a young player like myself, it’s exciting.
“They are signing me for a reason. I think it is his style of play, the wingers. When they get on the ball, he loves them to go 1v1 and be direct. They play a lot of one-twos with the 10s and striker, so it’s very attractive.”
This evident desire to be wanted, and to play in a coherent system, went out the window for Sancho at United under Erik ten Hag, who cast the winger out and eventually back to Borussia Dortmund.
There in Germany it was evident this was a player that could thrive in the right environment, and for that Maresca deserves praise for overcoming a major Chelsea hurdle, having sifted through the deadwood – shifting some on already – to train with the players he wants and can therefore rely on.
Clearly defined role
For all the jokes about Chelsea’s squad size, seven players have started all seven league games this season.
Enzo Fernandez has only missed one due to injury, while had Sancho been given the summer to impress his new boss, then he could easily have fallen into this category, too.
With a consistency in personnel, players are more attuned to their roles, and that is also to Maresca’s credit, the Italian having ensured Sancho the winger stays exactly that, a player who rarely strays from the left sideline and has recorded just one shot in his four league matches so far – fewer than 11 of his teammates including Moises Caicedo (four), Malo Gusto and Levi Colwill (both two).
That spells discipline, an acknowledgement of being a facilitator given he has Cole Palmer for company and either Nicolas Jackson or Christopher Nkunku to provide for, and is countered by the chances Sancho is creating.
Including those three league assists, Sancho is recording just over two goal-creating actions – passes, take-ons, drawing fouls – every 90 minutes so far this season, a sizeable increase having been just below 0.5 per 90 minutes at United in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Quality time together
He has also drawn praise from Maresca for his defensive work off the ball, particularly at West Ham, where Sancho stifled Aaron Wan-Bissaka and ended up having more touches in his own half than the opponent’s.
All this could be down to time, as well as affection, for back at their Cobham training ground Maresca has had more time to work with Sancho recently than the majority of his squad – on account of the two international breaks.
Sancho’s last England appearance was in October 2021, and while the Ten Hag fallout has dominated the summary of those three years since, the player is working his way back into international contention.
Sure, it will take more than a handful of games to prove Sancho is back on an upwards trajectory, but the early signs suggest this particular exodus could soon be over, if not in November then perhaps under Thomas Tuchel next year, with the now England manager reportedly wanting to sign Sancho while managing Chelsea back in 2021 and also, i reported in June, eager to reintegrate the player had he taken over at Manchester United.
An England return would complete the redemption arc, but for now being overlooked has only worked to Chelsea’s benefit, and that could pay dividends going into a tricky run starting at Liverpool on Sunday.
There we will find out where Chelsea stand, so too Sancho individually, as he begins the task of troubling the right side of a team that could become rivals for silverware later down the line this season.
Keep an eye, therefore, on Sancho versus Trent Alexander-Arnold. That could well be the tussle that dictates the outcome of this fascinating match-up.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/C8NHos3
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