Man United target told ‘stop moaning’ as Jadon Sancho slips back into ‘old ways’

Jadon Sancho has been warned that he's slipping back into bad habits and risks a repeat of his Manchester United disappointment at Chelsea.

Ex-Premier League midfielder Jamie O'Hara reckons that Sancho, 24, is "back at square one" after failing to build on an encouraging start at Stamford Bridge. The United loanee, who will join Chelsea permanently at the end of the season providing the Blues secure a top-15 finish, has yet to find the net for his new team.

He made an impact by setting up Christopher Nkunku's winner against Bournemouth on his debut in September, and followed that up with two assists in his next two matches. However, a few lacklustre displays in October saw him relegated to the bench, and he hasn't played since the 2-1 loss to Liverpool on October 20.

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While an injury sustained in training partly explains Sancho's absence, O'Hara believes the dip in form is a troubling indicator. "Jadon Sancho's been given an opportunity at Chelsea to prove people wrong, but it hasn't happened yet," he told Grosvenor Sport.

"Manchester United spent a lot of money on him and it didn't work out, so he's gone to Chelsea and showed signs of brilliance and confidence at the start, but he seems to have fallen back into his old ways since then. I think the problem with Sancho at Chelsea is that there are better players than him in that squad – Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke are more influential than him.

"He needs to try and produce moments when he gets the chance to impress, or he’ll stay where he is in the pecking order. It’s always going to be difficult when there’s a big group of attacking players in the same squad, but I think Enzo Maresca has worked out that Sancho isn’t as good as a lot of them."

O'Hara also took aim at Nkunku amid reports the Frenchman, 27, wants to leave Chelsea. After an injury-hit first season in west London, the ex-RB Leipzig forward has been struggling for minutes in the Premier League, with Maresca preferring Nicolas Jackson in attack, Cole Palmer at No. 10, and the likes of Neto, Sancho and Madueke out wide.

He has, however, been a regular in both the Conference League and the EFL Cup, and is Chelsea's top scorer this season with 10 goals in 17 matches. But a lack of game-time in Maresca's first-choice XI has reportedly left Nkunku unsettled, and it's understood that United could swoop for him in January.

New Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim is a longstanding admirer of his and could look to take advantage of his precarious situation by offering him more regular football at Old Trafford. O'Hara, however, thinks Chelsea would be crazy to get rid of Nkunku, who he described as a "top player".

The ex-Tottenham star also urged the France international to stop "moaning" and focus instead on breaking into the first XI. "Chelsea should absolutely not be selling Christopher Nkunku," he said. "He's a top player and they can't be getting rid of him in January.

"I don't know what he's moaning about to be honest I know he's not playing week in and week out in the Premier League, but that's fair play to the likes of Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer.

"Nkunku just has to deal with it he was injured all of last season and has come back this year, so he needs to fight his way back into the team. Chelsea are doing well and are in a good place at the moment, so Nkunku just needs to accept it and fight for his position.

"Big clubs need top players in every position, so I can't see Chelsea cashing in on him. Manchester City have top players in every area twice over, so if Chelsea want to get to that kind of level, then stuff like this is just part and parcel of being successful."

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