When Erik ten Hag’s departure was announced by Manchester United earlier this week, one mischievous social media account mocked up a post purporting to be a send-off from Jadon Sancho.
On any sort of inspection the image - of two emojis: one a waving hand and the other a bald man’s head - was, obviously, fake, but that it seemed feasible even at a millisecond’s mid-scroll glance was a reminder of the hostile terms on which Sancho’s United career was forcibly grounded. (That former goalkeeper David de Gea actually did post a ‘chef’s kiss’ symbol shortly after Ten Hag’s sacking probably aided it’s credibility, too).
Of course, neither Sancho nor Ten Hag will be involved when United host Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday, the former ineligible to face his parent club and the latter probably sipping a cocktail somewhere while plotting tactics on the back of his P45. Given that, in the final mad days before he was put out of his misery, the Dutchman had taken to denying the existence of games he actually managed in, it feels unlikely he’ll be checking the score.
The Sancho saga has featured prominently in the various breakdowns of where it all went wrong for Ten Hag this week, with reports that senior players felt the Englishman’s exile last season was a blatant example of a combative manager taking discipline too far. One postmortem even claimed that members of United’s hierarchy urged high-profile TV pundits to stop praising Sancho’s performances while on loan at Borussia Dortmund as it reflected badly on the club.
Having been brought back into the fold in preseason, but not exactly with open arms, Sancho’s deadline day move to Chelsea felt a necessity to escape not only a club in chaos but also a coach with whom his relationship had been damaged beyond repair.
If there was early unease, both as to whether Chelsea needed Sancho and whether crowded Cobham was the right place to reignite a career, then as recently as a month ago it looked a shrewd move.
On the same weekend as Ten Hag raged after a 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham, Sancho walked off at Stamford Bridge to a standing ovation during the 4-2 win over Brighton, having assisted for a third Premier League game in a row.
With an oversupply of wingers scrapping for first-team shirts, a fast start had been needed and duly delivered. Enzo Maresca spoke glowingly about Sancho’s final-third incision offering something that even his well-stocked squad lacked.
How is it then, that Chelsea head to Old Trafford on Sunday with a sense not of vindication around Sancho, but once again, concern?
The 24-year-old’s forced absence this weekend will mean that he has gone four Chelsea matches in succession without playing a minute since being hooked at half-time in the defeat to Liverpool a fortnight ago.
That substitution actually seemed harsh at the time, given Sancho had done a selfless defensive job in marking Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the game, but Maresca did not hesitate in confirming the move was tactical. He was then rested for the midweek Conference League win at Panathinaikos, only to be left out of the XI again against Newcastle last weekend in favour of Pedro Neto. Tellingly, after a good performance in Greece, it was Mykhailo Mudryk that Maresca then turned to first off the bench.
Circumstance has played its part (Sancho was ill in midweek when, presumably, he would have started the Carabao Cup loss at Newcastle). The pieces will continue to move at Chelsea, if only because there are so many of them. Look, for instance, at Marc Cucurella. A vital cog a few weeks ago, an ill-timed yellow card suspension and a rare streak of Reece James fitness mean that Spaniard is suddenly part of the second-string.
Perhaps in another month’s time, Sancho will be back in the side and this fretting will look premature, a product only of the situation’s urgency after the months wasted in the cold under Ten Hag.
Maresca’s Premier League XI, though, is difficult to break into, as those who have been performing well in the cup competitions without reward all season will attest. After losing at St. James’s Park, the Blues have just four non-league matches scheduled between now and the FA Cup third round in the second week of January.
That fact, and the festive fixture overload, means Maresca will surely have to relent on his distinct ‘A’ and ‘B’ team policy at some stage and that ought to benefit Sancho, among others.
With United wallowing in mid-table (and only just as high as that), while Chelsea are serious top-four contenders, the sense is still that Sancho got out at the right time and caught the right train. The challenge now is to stay on board.
