Should Sancho be Frank Lampard's first major signing for Chelsea?
Monday 9 December 2019 13:14, UK
Chelsea could be set to spend £100m on Borussia Dortmund and England star Jadon Sancho now their transfer ban has been lifted, according to reports - but would that be a wise move?
The 19-year-old winger has seven goals and seven assists in 12 Bundesliga appearances this season and scored his first goals for his country in September.
He's a sought-after talent - with Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona also reportedly keen signing him - but the Sunday Supplement panel were asked whether Sancho should be Frank Lampard's first major signing for Chelsea.
"Join the queue," said James Ducker, The Telegraph's northern football correspondent. "The price is the price because there's such a great interest in him.
"He was one of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's principal transfer targets last year and Borussia Dortmund made it abundantly clear that they wouldn't be selling him that summer unless there was a fee of at least £100m and that hasn't changed, despite some of the loggerheads he's at with the Dortmund hierarchy and the coach.
"It is an incredible amount of money for a player who has not done anything in the Premier League and spent his time in the Bundesliga. He's done superbly and [his youth team club] Manchester City were gutted to let him go.
"But the price will remain high because Manchester United want him, Chelsea want him, there's an interest from Liverpool in him, PSG's interest has cooled but both Real Madrid and Barcelona are keeping tabs on his development as well.
"Dortmund will get a huge price for him because there is a premium now for forward players of that age who can play in numerous positions in the modern game. There's a double premium for United and Chelsea with him being English.
"Is he worth that amount of money? It's a crazy sum for a player who is only in his second full season as a senior pro, but this is now where the game has gone and the issue is it leaves no hiding place for Sancho, he's going to come and you'll expect an instant impact.
"But equally clubs will bring a player like that in and think if it works we'll get a long, long time out of him."
Andy Dunn, chief sports writer at The Mirror, rates Sancho highly and says he is better than current young Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is also 19.
However, Dunn warns there is potential for Sancho's signing to disrupt Hudson-Odoi's development and says it is a situation Lampard will have to manage carefully.
"Isn't it Lampard's job to turn around and say 'you're going to get Sancho for £100m for me, I don't think he's any better than Hudson-Odoi', who you've just got to sign a new long-term deal at Chelsea, having looked as though he might go to Germany himself?"
"Can Hudson-Odoi and Sancho play in the same team? I'm not sure they can.
"I still think the job of a manager is to turn around and say 'this is my point of view how you best spend your money'.
"Sancho's a brilliant player and if I was Frank Lampard I would say I'd have him, I rate him higher than I rate Hudson-Odoi - but I'm not sure Lampard does. So it's up to Lampard.
"But we know how Hudson-Odoi reacted when he couldn't get into the team under Maurizio Sarri - he was off, he was going to go.
"So there are dynamics Frank Lampard has to consider as well if Sancho comes and Hudson-Odoi finds he's not getting his position in the team."
Ducker also made it clear that should Chelsea sign Sancho for big money, Lampard will have to ensure the clashes Sancho has had with management at City and Dortmund aren't repeated.
"When Sancho left City he basically stopped turning up that summer," said Ducker. "He'll argue that he was told to stay away. But City were like: 'he's not showing up'. He left because he wanted out, he didn't see a clear route to the first team at City and he'll probably look at Phil Foden now and think I made the right call.
"In recent weeks he returned late from international duty with England, got dropped off the back of it, and there have been other issues about time keeping.
"He was left very upset [by being taken off against Bayern Munich] when they were 1-0 down. He felt he was made a scapegoat and it was humiliating given the contributions he's made to that team over the past year.
"Whether it's all part of a strategy ahead of what will be a summer move we'll have to see. But for all his talent - and he's an outstanding talent - he will take some management.
"£100m is an enormous commitment."
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