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Jadon Sancho holds out hope for Chelsea offer as Juventus wait in wings
Jadon Sancho is holding out for an offer from Chelsea despite Juventus persisting with their efforts to sign the winger on loan from Manchester United.
Chelsea, who have been stepping up their attempts to sign Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, are looking at an opportunistic move for Sancho. They have held talks with United over a swap deal involving Raheem Sterling, who is out of favour at Stamford Bridge. United have shown little interest in Ben Chilwell despite being offered the Chelsea left-back.
Related: Liverpool agree deal to sign Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £10m
While little progress has been made with moving Sterling, it is understood Chelsea remain in the running to take Sancho in a separate deal. The 24-year-old, who is not in Erik ten Hag’s plans at United, is thought to have indicated a preference to join Chelsea over Juventus.
The situation is open and Juve have not given up on signing Sancho on a temporary basis. But while Enzo Maresca is not short of wide players, he did not shut down links with the former Borussia Dortmund attacker before the second leg of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League playoff in Geneva on Thursday night.
“If we have to sign a player just for signing, I don’t want it,” the Chelsea head coach said.
“But if we can sign a player who can help us, for sure I want it. I know Jadon very well from many years with [Manchester] City. I know him very well. But he is not our player. We will see what happens.”
Chelsea are in a strong position against Servette after beating the Swiss side 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last week. The job is not done, though, and Maresca warned his players to avoid complacency. He is also worried about the state of the pitch at Stade de Genève.
The immediate focus is on securing European football, although Maresca also has to contend with the unpredictability of the transfer market. He insisted Chelsea are not as crazy as they seem to outsiders.
Chelsea are working to trim a packed squad and Maresca has been ruthless with Sterling, who wants to resolve his contractual situation before assessing his future.
Serious interest is yet to materialise in Sterling, who has three years left on a deal worth £325,000 a week, and there is a chance he will not leave this week. But Maresca warned the 29‑year‑old, who is part of a group ostracised from the first-team group, that he will have no chance of playing if he stays at Chelsea.
“He knows exactly what he has to do,” Maresca said. “He doesn’t need my advice. I prefer to be honest with the player. . I don’t know what happens when the window closes. We will see who is here and who is not here.
“The only thing I can say is the ones who are going to get minutes are the ones who I think can help us. It’s not just Raheem. It’s all the players who are training apart. The moment the transfer window closes, they are not going to get minutes. I’ve already been clear with them and honest.”
Maresca is keen to bring in a striker and a defender. Chelsea are making a strong play for Osimhen but the Napoli forward has received a huge offer from the Saudi Pro League side, Al Ahli. The Nigeria striker, who has also been targeted by Paris Saint-Germain, would need to fit into Chelsea’s structure for a deal.
Chelsea have drawn up contingency plans and are monitoring Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Al Ahli are also pushing for Toney, whose contract expires next year.
Maresca will look to sign a centre-back if Chelsea are able to sell Trevoh Chalobah or Axel Disasi. Contact has been made with Benfica over Tomás Araújo. The 22-year-old centre-back is seen by PSG as a potential replacement for Milan Skriniar but Benfica are determined not to be forced into a sale.
Chelsea will be without Reece James, Malo Gusto, Roméo Lavia, João Félix and Pedro Neto against Servette.
