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Jadon Sancho spent the 2024/25 season on loan at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea decided to pay Manchester United a £5million fee to break the obligation clause in the contract
Unai Emery has hinted out-of-favour winger Jadon Sancho could be set to play some minutes when Aston Villa take on Chelsea on Saturday evening.
The Blues welcome the in-form Villa to west London this weekend in a crucial match for both right after Christmas. Sancho could be involved against his former club, but has not been used in the last two Premier League matches for Villa.
Sancho signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2024 on a season-long loan, with an obligation to make the deal permanent at the end of the campaign. In total, Sancho featured 42 times for the Blues, scoring five goals and providing 10 assists, which while not being a terrible return was not enough to convince the west Londoners to take him on a permanent basis.
There was an obligation for Sancho to move to SW6 on a permanent basis once his loan deal was up, but Chelsea decided to pay United a £5million fee in order to break that clause. Sancho then returned to Manchester United, but it was clear he had no future under Ruben Amorim, with Villa swooping in to take him for the season.
Sancho has started just five matches for Villa this season - and not one of them has come in the Premier League. So far, he has managed just 127 minutes on the pitch in the league, and Emery is aware that the Man United loanee needs to play more in the second half of the season. The Villa boss even suggested Sancho could get some minutes when his side go to Stamford Bridge later this week.
"Jadon is still young, he has had an amazing career and is now in a moment where he needs to recover his best performance," Emery said last week. "I have this challenge with him. He has this challenge with me as well. Of course, he is not playing all the minutes I think he has to.
"But in the second part of the season, I believe in him. He is really being demanding himself to try to get his best moment this season with us.
"Of course, on Sunday we are finishing December and then starting January soon. The first match back he will play is against Chelsea. He has that challenge with me and himself, and with the club, as well. I believe in him and hopefully we can get it."
Meanwhile, Chelsea are set to welcome back Estevao Willian and Liam Delap to the squad after injuries. Delap has not played since limping off with a shoulder problem against Bournemouth earlier in the month, while Estevao has missed the last two matches with a knock.
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