'Same as Andrey Santos!' - Jadon Sancho's Chelsea future remains up in the air claims Enzo Maresca with head coach 'not thinking at all about next year'

Enzo Maresca said he was "not thinking about next year" when asked about Jadon Sancho's uncertain Chelsea future and loanee Andrey Santos.

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WHAT HAPPENED?
The winger swapped Manchester United for Chelsea last summer on loan with an obligation to buy for £25 million ($33m). However, the Blues may yet send the 25-year-old back to Old Trafford if they pay the Red Devils £5m. On Friday, head coach Maresca was asked about what lies ahead for the England international and the plans for Strasbourg loanee Santos, who is reportedly expected to be part of the Blues' Club World Cup squad.

AFP
WHAT MARESCA SAID
He said, via journalist Ben Jacobs: "The only thing we said to Jadon, and all our offensive players, is that we need more, in terms of numbers, goal and assist. So Jadon, as you said in the last games, is doing better. But we need goal and assist from Nico [Jackson], from Cole [Palmer], from Noni [Madueke], from Pedro [Neto, from Enzo [Fernandes as well].
"[Jadon's future] is the same as with Andrey Santos. In this moment, I'm not thinking at all about next year or the players that can be here next year. I'm just thinking how we can get the best from them to finish the season very strong."
On Santos, the Italian added: "We know Andrey is doing well. In this moment, we are just focused about how we finish this season. Then when we finish this season, we're going to start to think about next season."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The trajectory of Sancho's career has arguably nosedived ever since he joined United from Borussia Dortmund for £73m ($97m) in 2021. He struggled at Old Trafford and while there have been shoots of positivity at Chelsea, the fact that uncertainty remains over his future suggests the west London team are undecided on what to do with him. Plus, with Santos set to re-join them soon, there is a possibility Sancho could head back to the Red Devils at the end of the campaign.

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WHAT NEXT?
Aside from transfer speculation, Chelsea travel to their London neighbours Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.

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