Jadon Sancho Chelsea transfer clause explained in Man Utd return chance after star struggles again

Just like Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho's form this season has mirrored the overall performance at Chelsea. A bright start founded upon optimism, freedom, dynamism, energy, and hope. The turn towards a mid-season blip threatening to become a crisis and a lack of confidence. Now the turgid, stale, slow, uninspired emptiness on show.

It took Sancho seven matches to equal his assists tally from Manchester United. He has one in 22 appearances across all competitions since then.

Sancho's only two goals for Chelsea came in the same week away to Southampton and Tottenham. His season peaked when Enzo Maresca's did. It has been a tough slog in the months to follow.

From embarrassing United and exposing their flaws to being heavily criticised for his own. Sancho is only a part of the wider problems at Chelsea but he is symbolic of them.

Whereas Maresca needs tricky one-on-one forwards to exploit gaps and beat man-to-man or two-on-one scenarios, Sancho's play is more reserved. His defining feature has been more geared at exploiting low blocks and deep defences but that has not proven to be the case.

In recent weeks he has been unable to add tempo or flare to a fragile frontline. Shifted from left to right to accommodate for Christopher Nkunku's return to the side, Sancho has been an awkward fit. He does not have the support of overlapping full-backs - although when Marc Cucurella has been alongside him on the left it has been effective on occasion - nor a genuine No.9 anymore.

Sancho has seemingly hit a wall. Never a prolific shot-taker, he is now trying his luck less and less. Since a run of at least one shot per game in 11 straight appearances, Sancho has had four in the 11 since.

When it comes to shots on target, Sancho's numbers are woeful. Before his second half attempt against Copenhagen he had gone 13 games and over 700 minutes without testing the goalkeeper. In the league he is yet to have one on target in 2025.

When combined with Jackson's form drying up as well as his subsequent injury, Noni Madueke's own absence and problems in front of goal, and then Cole Palmer having his worst run in 18 months, Sancho's flaws have been exposed. They were always there but the 24-year-old can no longer hide.

He was able to play a useful role in a team high on belief, performing well and finding answers. When tasked with adding impetus himself or taking on the attacking load, he has disappeared.

He provides very little off the ball and does not threaten or scare defences with his speed. He is now a one-dimensional option for Maresca in a team increasingly blunt.

Chelsea have Tyrique George as a new member of the first-team squad and he is being used more often by Maresca. Over the summer Estevao Willian will arrive as competition on the right, as will Kendry Paez - although he operates more in central areas.

In a little over 12 months, Geovany Quenda will also arrive. He, like Sancho and George, can play on both sides and is viewed as one of the best young wingers of his age group.

Over the summer and into January, Chelsea were considering their options with Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, and Nico Williams. Nkunku may well be on his way out over the summer and Sancho does not have to worry about Mykhailo Mudryk right now, but his place in the squad has changed significantly since early December.

Sancho looks set to lose his starting spot when Jackson and Madueke return. This all raises the question as to whether he is worth the money Chelsea have committed to buying him.

At the end of the month Sancho will be 25. He has been out of the England side for three years, which is just as long as he was in it. Sancho is on big wages at United and has not managed to truly settle for more than a few months at any of his last three clubs.

Chelsea looked to have solved that when they picked him up for cheap over the summer. The agreement is that a fee of between £20million-£25million will be paid for Sancho depending on where Chelsea finish in the Premier League. His initial loan is effectively an obligation-to-buy given that they only needed to finish above 15th to trigger the clause.

A player of Sancho's track record and quality is still good value for that money, it would seem, but whether or not it is a deal that now makes sense is not as clear. If Chelsea did not already have the obligation, would they now be looking to sign him?

We will find out just how much they see Sancho as part of the medium-to-long-term plans soon enough. It has been reported that Chelsea can back out of the permanent transfer. It will cost what is described as a large sum in order to send him back, though.

One possibility, although there is no evidence of this being considered, is buying Sancho and then trying to sell him on rather than paying United not to take him. The former Manchester City academy man would also have to agree fresh terms with Chelsea as he is currently still on his one from United.

They are giving out a big wage to Sancho, especially in proportion to where his performances have been since 2021. Chelsea are unlikely to cover this in full themselves. The club have moved to an incentive-first structure with much-lower base figures.

This must now all be debated and decided as Chelsea head into the final two months of the season. Sancho is playing for his place and trying to earn it back. With the Club World Cup providing an additional summer obstacle to completing transfers for Chelsea, and uncertainty over their pre-season plans, it is now down to Sancho to prove his worth.

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