'Deal on' - Chelsea given 'total green light' to complete deadline day transfer for £73m man

Chelsea are still said to be leading the race to land Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho ahead of Friday night’s 11pm transfer deadline as the 24-year-old reportedly gives ‘total green light’ to the move. The Blues are working hard on a striker deal ahead of the deadline, but they may also strengthen out wide depending on key outgoings.

The Blues have done a better job of offloading unwanted players this summer, with the likes of Ian Maatsen and Romelu Lukaku moving on, but they still need to offload other players who do not feature in Enzo Maresca’s plans for this season. Raheem Sterling has been told he is surplus to requirements, and the same goes for Trevoh Chalobah among others.

Sterling faces a real rush to find a new club before Friday night’s deadline, with his representative reportedly offering him out to a number of clubs. United are said to be the main club interested in a deal, though they will need to abide by financial rules as they prepare to welcome Manuel Ugarte on a big-money deal from PSG.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea are going to struggle to strike a deal for Sancho unless they can include Sterling in some sort of swap deal, with all of their remaining cash - at least within Profit and Sustainability rules - set to be spent on a striker, whether one arrives on a permanent or loan deal.

It’s unclear how much Chelsea are asking for to sell Sterling, who was bought for £47million, while United were demanding £40million for Sancho after buying him for £73m in 2021, although that price may have dropped given the proximity to the end of the window. A swap deal involving both players could be the ideal solution, but such deals are not easy to pull off, and especially not this close to the 11pm deadline.

Fresh Sancho boost

According to The Guardian, a swap deal involving Sancho and Sterling is still possible, while reports have claimed Juventus are no longer interested in a deal for Juventus, allowing Chelsea a clear path to the winger if they can figure our a solution.

Now, however, Fabrizio Romano has provided Blues fans with a further update to the ongoing transfer saga by detailing that the Red Devils’ outcast is ‘keen’ on joining the Chelsea project as he gives a ‘total green light’ to the move.

Taking to X, the Italian transfer specialist reported: “Jadon Sancho gives total green light to Chelsea move, he’s keen on joining #CFC project. Talks are taking place between Chelsea and Man United, deal currently ON. Juventus in complete stand-by since yesterday.”

Sancho and United boss Erik ten Hag made up this summer, but when asked about the winger’s future, he said around two weeks ago: “We have a squad, I hope we will have a squad with double positioning when we go into the season after September 1. That means you can’t select all the players but you need them all throughout the season. We have to manage it, the attitude of the players is very important, sometimes they will be disappointed [but] they have to deal with it, you win as a squad.”