'Not enough' - Chelsea dodged a bullet by not signing player who manager says is not fit enough

Chelsea will feel as though they have dodged a bullet by not signing a player they had the chance to snap up in the summer. The Blues had a rather cautious transfer window, at least compared to windows previous, with a UEFA fine and the threat of a further fine keeping the West London club in check.

Enzo Maresca did manage to get his hands on a few new signings, with Alejandro Garnacho, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and others arriving, but much of the window saw Chelsea focus on exits to make sure they balanced the books while adding to their squad.

One transfer Chelsea decided not to pull the trigger on was Jadon Sancho, who arrived last season on a loan-to-buy deal. But the Blues paid a penalty fee of £5million to send Sancho back to United, who didn’t particularly want him back, and he has since joined Aston Villa on loan.

Sancho has made just five appearances since, and the latest saw him brought on and then substituted in a bold move from Unai Emery. Sancho was brought on for Emi Buendia in the 29th minute through injury and was then brought off in the 74th minute.

Emery later explained that it was due to Sancho’s fitness, which is not yet up to speed. He said: “It was not easy, firstly, after Sancho played 60 minutes against Go Ahead (in the Europa League on Thursday). He is getting fit, but not enough. I planned as well with him to play him in the second half, but after the injury to Buendia, I decided to get him on the field as best as possible to get minutes and fitness, using his skills and qualities.

“His impact was good, but I knew before that it was my plan was to sub him, and I did it before with Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia. It was not a punishment, it was a plan - he played 45 minutes. The other sub players were ready. Malen, Maatsen and Barkley were all very good.”

Beyond his fitness, Sancho has an average WhoScored rating of 6.24 for his outings this season, which suggests Chelsea were right to get out of the £25million option to buy Sancho. The 25-year-old could yet improve, of course, and five games is not a great sample size, but Emery doesn’t seem overly convinced, and that’s where Sancho found himself with Maresca.

The winger did produce some good moments in a Chelsea shirt, but 6/10 performances were all too common, and Maresca clearly wanted more from his wingers. Garnacho hasn’t exactly been electric, but he has an average of 6.51 so far this season, and it feels like there is more to come from the still developing 21-year-old.

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