Three seasons after his Manchester United move, Blues supporters are eagerly awaiting the Jadon Sancho Chelsea debut after his loan move was confirmed.
Chelsea pushed for Sancho’s signing during his stellar first spell at Borussia Dortmund. But following an underwhelming spell at Old Trafford and a spat with Erik ten Hag, the Blues have secured a potential transfer bargain.
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How did Sancho end up at Chelsea?
A west London native, Sancho idolised Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard as a child, so a move to Stamford Bridge has always been a possibility.
But the story of Sancho’s move to Chelsea really started around a year ago.
After two underwhelming seasons at Old Trafford, Sancho was publicly called out by Ten Hag, who claimed the Englishman did not work hard enough or have the right attitude in training.
Sancho publicly denied the claims, and was subsequently frozen out until a loan move back to Borussia Dortmund materialised, where he helped Die Schwarzgelben reach the Champions League final.
Despite Sancho and Ten Hag publicly turning over a new leaf, the 24-year-old featured sparingly in pre-season.
Sensing his talents were being undervalued, Chelsea offered to take Sancho on loan, with an obligation to buy for £25m next season. Manchester United accepted, despite interest from Juventus.
Where will Sancho play on his Chelsea debut?
Sancho is a creative winger, capable of starting from either side, with the intention of moving centrally.
At Manchester United, Sancho was not played to his strengths and was often isolated high and wide, a poor use of his combinative style and creative potential.
So far, Chelsea has largely played a 4-2-3-1 under Enzo Maresca, with two wingers on either side of Cole Palmer. Noni Madueke has claimed the right side following his spectacular hat-trick at Wolves.
Sancho will likely compete with Pedro Neto for the left-wing berth, where the overlapping runs of Marc Cucurella will allow him to move into the same pockets he thrived in at Dortmund.
What number will Sancho wear for Chelsea?
Sancho will wear the number 19 at Chelsea. Despite being a lower-profile number, Chelsea have had a number of key players sport it.
Diego Costa, Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have all donned the number 19 in recent years.
Should Sancho’s move be a success, however, he may start gunning for Mykhailo Mudryk’s 10 shirt, as the Ukrainian continues to struggle at The Bridge.
Will Sancho win on his debut?
Sancho will likely debut away to Bournemouth at Saturday’s evening kick-off.
The Blues have a strong record against the Cherries, even away from home. In their eight meetings on the south coast, Chelsea have won five, drawn two and lost only once.
Chelsea’s away record overall, however, is still patchy. Since the start of last season, the Blues have won just eight of their 20 away days.
Things were much better last time out, though, when their lightning-fast counter-attacks annihilated the Wolves defence in a 6-2 win at Molineux.
It may serve Maresca’s side well to play on those transitional moments again against Bournemouth.
