Jadon Sancho 'back to square one' at Chelsea as Man Utd target told to 'stop moaning'

Jadon Sancho has been told he's falling back into old habits and is at risk of falling flat at Chelsea, just as he did at Manchester United.

That's according to Jamie O'Hara, who reckoned Sancho was "back at square one" after failing to capitalise on a promising start at Stamford Bridge. The United loanee, who will join the Blues permanently at the end of the season providing they finish above 15th in the Premier League table, is yet to score for his new club.

He set up Christopher Nkunku's late winner against Bournemouth on his debut in September, and notched two more assists in his next two games. But a couple of disappointing performances after that saw the 24-year-old dropped to the bench, and he hasn't featured for Enzo Maresca's side since the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on October 20.

Admittedly, a key reason for Sancho's absence is the fact that he picked up a knock in training, but O'Hara thinks his underwhelming form is a worrying sign. "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," O'Hara added. "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 up front, Cole Palmer at No. 10, and the likes of Neto, Sancho and Madueke in wide areas.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

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 left Nkunku unsettled, and it's understood a January switch to Old Trafford could be on the cards.

New Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim is a longstanding admirer of Nkunku's and the club may look to take full advantage of the current situation by offering him regular first team football. That said, O'Hara thinks Chelsea would be mad to get rid of Nkunku, who he described as a "top player", so readily. The ex-Tottenham star also urged the player to stop "moaning" and focus instead on becoming a Chelsea regular.

"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."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Click here to read article