Despite the disruption to the 2019/20 football season, you can rest assured that the activity in the summer transfer window – whenever it opens – will be as feverish as ever.
The hottest young talents from around the world will be on the radar of the continent’s biggest clubs, and no single player will attract more interest than Jadon Sancho.
At the age of just 20, Sancho is a Champions League regular for Borussia Dortmund and has helped to establish the Die Schwarzgelben as the chief contender to Bayern Munich’s throne in the German Bundesliga.
He’s blasted 16 goals and created 17 more in Dortmund’s dual assault on the domestic title and the Champions League this term. And the young man who was born in Camberwell is now a regular in the England national team – he really does have the world at his feet.
No wonder the big guns of English football are queuing up to try and tempt him home. As you may know, many of the leading bookmakers offer football odds relating to the transfer window, and Sancho is expected to join long-term suitors Manchester United this summer – according to the bookies, anyway.
But is there actually a London-based club who could offer punters a value option as we dissect where the forward could end up this summer?
Singing the Blues
Football is a sport where ties made as a youngster are typically hard to shake off. Sancho was a huge Chelsea supporter as a child, and you wonder if the Blues put some money on the table whether they would be able to tempt the 20-year-old to the capital.
According to reports, Sancho will only entertain the idea of joining Manchester United this summer if Champions League football is on the cards next season – at the time of writing, of course, Chelsea look more likely of achieving that ambition.
Growing up in London, he struck up a number of friendships with young stars who would go on to make an impact on the game, not least Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.
He has spoken of his close bond with Sancho in the past, which started when they played in the parks and cages near to where they grew up. “We have always talked to each other off the pitch, called each other, speak to each other, see how the other one is going and he has had a great season”, Hudson-Odoi has confirmed.
The duo linked up as part of England’s triumphant run to the trophy at the Under-17 World Cup in 2017, and they were joined in that formidable side by another promising Chelsea starlet in Marc Guehi.
Sancho is also on good terms with Christian Pulisic, his former Dortmund teammate who now plies his trade at Stamford Bridge.
There are clearly a number of reasons why Jadon Sancho might join Chelsea this summer, both personal and professional, and that is why the odds of 16/5 on that very outcome look excellent value indeed.
Frank Lampard, it’s over to you…
