Reece James has already exposed Jadon Sancho 'red flag' as Chelsea sent major transfer warning

Earlier this year, Kieron Dyer recalled the time Reece James exposed a 'red flag' in Jadon Sancho. The 24-year-old winger continues to be heavily linked with a move to Chelsea as Enzo Maresca looks to strengthen his frontline before the summer transfer window slams shut.

football.london understands there is growing confidence that the Blues will strike a deal with Manchester United to sign Sancho before tonight's deadline. It's believed that the England international wants to join Chelsea, and the two clubs are expected to reach an agreement soon.

The west Londoners are long-term admirers of Sancho, football.london understands; not to mention Joe Shields, the Chelsea co-director of recruitment and talent, who brought the playmaker to Manchester City in 2015.

During his time at the Etihad Stadium, Shields worked closely with Sancho as the club's academy scouting manager and mainly covered the south of the United Kingdom; where he discovered the winger playing youth football at Watford.

Sancho established himself as one of the most exciting young players in the world in the Manchester City youth setup – and he caught the eye in the 2017 FA Youth Cup final. Speaking on talkSPORT Drive in January 2024, Dyer recalled the winger's performance against James.

The former Newcastle United midfielder said: "He was a wonderkid growing up. He was the talk of everybody in the academies at that time. I was coaching and when I watched Man City he was unstoppable. It was the youth team, so the under-18s and he was incredible.

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"He was probably 17 years old and everyone wanted him – he could have his pick, he’d just dominate every team. They played Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup final and played against Reece James and Reece James got the better of him, which can happen to anyone, but he quit on his team in the Youth Cup final.

"He just mentally went and I kind of had a red flag against him then and thought that’s a bit weird“He’s got the world at his feet and alright, he’s had a bad game but he’s quit on his teammates. You could see the life had gone out of him, he’d stopped tracking back and sort of given up and was basically mentally gone."

Chelsea won the FA Youth Cup final in 2017 6-2 over two legs; the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw away at the The Academy Stadium before enjoying a resounding 5-1 victory at Stamford Bridge to win the tie.