Ex-Man Utd assistant boss reveals Jadon Sancho would 'sneak out' to London ahead of Chelsea move and backs winger to 'be a special player again'

Sancho had a public fallout with United boss Erik ten Hag and was unable to work his way back into the Dutchman's good books before leaving to join up with Chelsea. McCarthy, who was Ten Hag's assistant at Old Trafford until this summer, has revealed the England international and his head coach did not communicate properly, leading to a breakdown in their relationship. McCarthy also admitted that Sancho snuck out to London often and was always drawn to the culture of the capital.

Speaking on theOn The Whistle podcast, McCarthy said: "[He's] a great boy, great character, fantastic footballer, unbelievable the things that he can do. For me, it was a real shame that it didn't work out for Jadon at United, because I thought he was the type of player that that would flourish in a United shirt. But unfortunately, I think lack of communication and understanding, I think was part of the downside that didn't end up working with Sanch.

"He's closer to home because he did sneak out to come to London quite a lot. So probably the fact that he was missing home, and, just wanted to be a bit closer to to family and friends and his culture. The London culture is quite strong, so I think Jadon maybe wanted more of that. So that's why he kept on. He was in London quite a lot.

"Now he is closer to home, so hopefully he can find that peace, he can find that bit of magic that that he found when he went to Dortmund, and he gets the love that he deserves from the coaching staff, the players. I think he will turn out to be a special player again. Because I think every single one that knows Sancho that would want him to be at that level, because it's good for world football."

Having broken through at Manchester City before making a name for himself at Borussia Dortmund, it always seemed inevitable that Sancho would end up in London at some stage of his career. The 24-year-old has notched three assists in four games so far for Chelsea and looks to have carried his form from the end of last season - when he was on loan at Dortmund - into the 2024-25 campaign.

Sancho has not quite done enough to earn a spot back in the England squad for the upcoming matches against Greece and Finland, but he is certainly in Enzo Maresca's plans. The 23-cap international will be hoping to earn his spot in the starting XI when the Blues host Nottingham Forest on Sunday.