The winger staked his claim as the Blues’ frenzied spending leaves the new head coach with near-unmanageable attacking depth
In a transfer that seemed to provoke more questions than it provided answers, Jadon Sancho completed a loan-to-buy to Chelsea from Manchester United on deadline day – becoming the latest in a raft of attacking arrivals at Stamford Bridge in the summer. The likes of Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto and Joao Felix had already signed on, making the decision to pursue the United outcast all the more baffling.
It hasn’t taken long for Sancho to change perceptions among the fanbase, at least; in an eye-catching debut cameo, the 24-year-old emerged from the bench to inspire a toiling Chelsea side to a hard-fought victory over Bournemouth on the road, endearing himself to the travelling support as they belted out his name.
It was the kind of performance that went some way to explaining why the west London club were willing to roll the dice on a player who endured a miserable time at Old Trafford, but also makes Enzo Maresca’s selection headache that bit more painful as he juggles an array of talented forwards. The question now is: how the hell does he set up his attack?!
Fastest-possible start
Sancho’s arrival at Chelsea prompted questions of both their transfer strategy and whether the winger was capable of getting back to the kind of level that convinced United to shell out £73 million ($96m) for his services just three years ago.
It is, of course, early days, but the player responded emphatically to any doubts over his ability and value to the Blues in a debut cameo against Bournemouth, inspiring his new side to victory. Introduced as a half-time substitute for the ineffective Neto, Sancho tormented his defender throughout the second period with his unpredictable dribbling and provided the match-winning assist for Christopher Nkunku with minutes to go.
In his 45 minutes on the pitch, Sancho played 17 passes in the final third, won two duels, created two openings and maintained a 92 percent pass accuracy. All of that and his simple ball to tee up Nkunku’s crucial strike earned him the Man of the Match award, despite the fact he only played half the game.