Chelsea 'took a small risk' with Jadon Sancho signing as Blues backed to bring in Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens as 'improvement' on Man Utd winger

In the summer of 2024, Chelsea made the shock decision to bring Manchester United flop Sancho to Stamford Bridge on a loan deal with an obligation to buy the winger this summer. Despite a quick start to life with the West London side, Sancho's overall season can only be seen to be yet another disappointment, as the Blues decided to back out of their commitment to sign the 25-year-old by paying a small penalty fee to the Red Devils. However, former Chelsea star Nevin doesn't think that the Blues made a 'mistake' by signing Sancho, but definitely 'took a small risk'.

Speaking to Spin Genie, who offer the latest jackpot slots, Nevin said: "I don't think the Jadon Sancho signing was a mistake from Chelsea. Putting it simply, he's a decent player who did an okay job for Chelsea.

“His three Premier League goals and four assists aren't bad. Also, he showed a good attitude and worked hard but Chelsea need more. They are looking for something extra special.

"They took a risk and have had to pay the price of £5 million to cancel a permanent deal. But let's be honest, it's not a lot of money. It's not a lot of money in the context of what they would be spending to sign Sancho permanently and in the context of what they have spent on other recent transfers that haven't worked out well. It's an insignificant amount of money for Chelsea.

"Just because it's Jadon Sancho, people take things more seriously. At the end of the day, Chelsea took a small risk, and it hasn't worked out, which isn't the end of the world."

Following Sancho's return to Manchester United and Mykhailo Mudryk's uncertain future on the back of the FA's anti-doping charges against him, Chelsea are looking to sign wing options this summer with Borussia Dortmund's Gittens and Brighton's Joao Pedro linked with Enzo Maresca's side. Nevin believes that the signing of Gittens would be an 'improvement' to Maresca's side compared to the options he had with Sancho.

Nevin added: "Jamie Gittens would be an improvement on Jadon Sancho. The problem for Chelsea could be that nobody knows, and recent history will tell you, how players coming from the Bundesliga will perform in England.

"We don't know if Jamie Gittens will perform but he absolutely fits the bill of what Chelsea are after in the transfer market. He's 20 and scored 12 goals in 48 games across all competitions last season, which is really good for a wide player. You do, however, have to remember that the Bundesliga is completely different to the Premier League.

"Someone like Florian Wirtz is a no-brainer and is almost a certainty to work, which is why you have to pay big money to get him. Gittens isn't one of those but he's young enough to ensure he'll always have sell-on value, which mitigates how big of a risk he is as you can sell on at a small loss if required. That's what makes the Chelsea transfer model work.

"I'd be in the camp of signing Gittens over Sancho. No disrespect to Sancho, but he's not a massive improvement. You need to bring in players who are currently better than what you already have in the form of Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke, which isn't the case with Sancho."

The Blues have already seen two bids turned down by Borussia Dortmund in their hunt for Gittens ahead of the Club World Cup. However, it is expected that they will go for the England U21 winger yet again after the end of the tournament, with Maresca keen on bringing him to West London before the start of pre-season.