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Enzo Maresca has already shown Erik ten Hag the big mistake he made with Jadon Sancho at Man Utd

Jadon Sancho
-Credit: (Image: Ryan Hiscott)


"I have a feeling that Jadon is a guy that needs love."

A simple observation from Enzo Maresca having worked with Jadon Sancho for a couple of weeks. It is a working relationship that has just started but one that has been years in the making.

Sancho, who grew up in Kennington, a five-mile trip from Stamford Bridge, trained with Watford's academy for eight years between 2007 and 2015 before making the move to the north west to join Manchester City. However, despite Maresca also being at the Etihad Stadium, their paths never crossed with Sancho making the brave, but ultimately right, decision to move to Germany and continue his career at Borussia Dortmund.

They do, though, share plenty of mutual friends and the pair have been aware of one another for years now. Maresca spoke with Sancho before the winger decided to move from Old Trafford to Stamford Bridge on an initial season-long loan deal with an obligation to make that a permanent one when the contract has expired.

"I don't consider Jadon a risk because I consider Jadon as a player who can help us," Maresca said at Cobham on Friday before the winger made a match-winning impact on his debut just over 24 hours later. "I don't have any idea about what happened with Erik [ten Hag]. I can judge the player in the weeks he has been with us and he has been perfect."

He added: "Jadon has been working well with us since he arrived. I love Jadon, I love the players we have. I knew him in terms of a player and what I have seen in two weeks is exactly what I expected.

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"With the way we play he is that kind of player who can help us a lot, especially in the last third - when we arrive there so many times and need more quality, more patience, more accuracy."

At Manchester United, Sancho had a very public falling out with Erik ten Hag after the winger criticised the Dutchman in a social media post 12 months ago following comments from the manager that he had not put the required effort in during training sessions. It led to Sancho being exiled from the United squad and he was sent on loan back to Borussia Dortmund, the club the Red Devils bought him from, in the January transfer window.

Maresca's comments early on in Sancho's tenure suggest the 24-year-old needs special attention - and as he said, "love - if he is to get back to playing his best football". Maresca was full of praise for the winger following his contribution down at Bournemouth on Saturday.

After he said Sancho "needs love", the head coach continued: "This is what I think 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. They are happy and want to play football, they want to enjoy football and then because they are good, they are going to do good things."

Sancho's 45-minute cameo on Saturday has certainly got Chelsea supporters excited. In order for the winger to replicate those types of performances on a consistent basis, how he is man-managed is going to be absolutely crucial.