Enzo Maresca coy on Jadon Sancho future at Chelsea

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has refused to confirm whether the club will take up their obligation to sign Jadon Sancho this summer and warned the winger “could do better” with his end product.

Sancho is on a season-long loan from Manchester United and as part of that agreement, the west London side were expected to sign the 25-year-old permanently for a fee in the region of £25 million ($32.3m).

However, a source has told ESPN that Chelsea could pay £5m to release themselves from that commitment amid doubts over Sancho’s output, having registered just two goals and seven assists from 28 appearances to date.

Asked on Wednesday whether Chelsea will commit to signing Sancho, Maresca said: “All the players that are with us, I love all of them. But in this moment, it is the moment to finish well. It is not the moment to think about next season.

“I am completely focused on nine games, two months to go. I’m completely focused about that and then what happens in the summer, we’ll see. All the ones that are here, I want them all to be happy to be here.”

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Pushed on what his message to Sancho was amid speculation he could be sent back to United, Maresca continued: “To be honest, probably you have more news than me in terms of Jadon. For me, Jadon’s situation doesn’t change. It is exactly the same. For sure, in terms of numbers, he could do better, no doubt.

“But it is not just about Jadon. I think we have more players in the same situation. I don’t need to give Jadon a message because I speak with Jadon every day. I had a conversation yesterday with him. He just has to give his best until the end and this is what we want from Jadon.”

Chelsea face Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Thursday and will welcome back Cole Palmer (muscular problem), Noni Madueke (hamstring) and Nicolas Jackson (hamstring) from injury. Maresca confirmed that he cancelled a scheduled day off last week after a group of first-team players not away on international duty lost a training game to the club’s under-21 side.

“Since I joined the club I always demand high standards,” he said.

“During the international break, not an official game, not many players here, the day after off. Sometimes it is normal to be a little bit relaxed but because I don’t allow this we decided the day after to train but it is nothing strange, nothing new.

“They are training here every day, every day, every day without any official game. Then we play just a game between us and the second team and we took that decision.”