MANCHESTER UNITED legend Andy Cole has warned Jadon Sancho he will struggle at Chelsea “unless football becomes 24-a-side”.
The English forward, 24, joined the Blues on Deadline Day on a loan deal with an obligation to buy for around £23million.
He is yet to make his debut for the Blues, but could feature in their trip to Bournemouth on Saturday night.
However, Man Utd Treble winner Cole, 52, feels Sancho will struggle to establish a run in Enzo Maresca’s team due to Chelsea’s inflated squad.
Speaking to Betfred, he said: “Manchester United paid over £70million for Jadon three years ago, so it’s a lot of money lost isn’t it?
“Jadon’s a very talented kid and he’s still only 24 years old, so if Chelsea can get the best out of him, like Borussia Dortmund did last season, then it would be a steal.
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“There’s so much talent and so much unlocked potential there, so if Chelsea can unlock it and get him to the peak of his powers, then it would ultimately be a very, very good deal for them.
“However, you can flip it on its head and ask where he’s going to play?
“Unless football becomes 24-a-side, he’s going to struggle like everybody else is at Chelsea because nobody knows what’s going on there.
“They’ve got loads of big names but they can only choose 11 players to start, so it will be interesting to see how he does at Chelsea.”
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Maresca has a host of options in the wide attacking positions including Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke.
Sancho scored two goals and provided two assists in 14 Bundesliga games while on loan at Dortmund during the second half of last season.
Aside from that short stint back in Germany, he has not played any football since the 2022/23 campaign due to a spat with Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag.
Sancho, who has featured 23 times for England, has also not received a cap for his country in three years.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
