3 G/A since October – stats are ugly for £25m signing set to make permanent move this summer | OneFootball

The curious case of Jadon Sancho continues.

He’s such a neat and tidy player with such obvious and aesthetic touch and dribbling that he often looks more effective than he is. His strong start to life at Chelsea only added to that. He picked up 3 assists in his first 3 Premier League appearances, and looked like his skills had been instantly unlocked by his departure from the rolling chaos at Old Trafford.

But since then he’s picked up just one further assist and two goals. Manager Enzo Maresca has even dropped him at times, looking for new solutions.

A glance at the stats one level deeper than the simple goal contributions reveal a player who is just not creating enough threat to the opposition. In terms of shots per game he’s 10th in the squad according to WhoScored data. He shoots less than once per game on average, while players like Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke are up above 3 shots per game.

He doesn’t make up for it in key passes either – he’s averaging one of those every game, while the team’s top creators Palmer and Enzo Fernandez have more than 2.

Sancho still has more to give

Jadon Sancho in action against Brighton. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

So far Sancho is proving a useful option for this squad, but he’s certainly not performing at the level of effectiveness we want or need from him. A reported £22m-25m will be the fee we pay Manchester United in the summer to make that deal permanent according to Fabrizio Romano, and while that’s pretty cheap, it’s also not going to turn into an incredible bargain unless he really raises his level.

It really is no surprise that Chelsea continue to look at other options in attacking positions as they seek a player who is as productive as the likes of Palmer.