'I didn't think he was a great footballer!' - Former Chelsea scout opens up on his worst transfer mistakes after missing out on Jadon Sancho and Dele Alli

Chris Robinson, speaking on talkSPORT, admitted to some high-profile scouting misses during his time at Chelsea, claiming he didn't think Joe Gomez was "a great footballer" and passing on the opportunity to sign Jadon Sancho and Dele Alli. Of course, Gomez is now playing for Liverpool, while Sancho did eventually make it to Stamford Bridge. Dele is playing for Como in Italy.

Of course, there is no guarantee in scouting, and Robinson accepts that sometimes talent-spotters do get it wrong. He claims that his son has trolled him in the past, with three of the players he rejected turning out for England together.

Robinson, who spent 11 years with the Chelsea Academy, was speaking following the release of his new book and said: "A while ago, I was watching England play and one of my sons phoned me up and said ‘You realise there are three players playing for England that you said no to?’

"I watched Jadon [Sancho] play for Watford and we knew he was probably going to Manchester City at 14. I didn’t think he was better than what we had, he was a different sort of player than he became to be fair. He was more of a striker, more of a No.9. He was a good player but he wasn’t the tricky winger that he became.

“[Dele] Alli I watched at MK Dons when he was playing in the first team at a young age and he was again a different build, different type of player. I said in my reports that we had two players at Chelsea – Josh McEachran and Lewis Baker who I thought were better than him.

"Gomez at Charlton, I went to watch Joe and I thought he’s a good athlete, I didn’t think he was a great footballer."

Despite these high-profile misses, Robinson remains philosophical, acknowledging that "scouts have to be brave" and that "you're not always going to be right". He continues to work in football, focusing on youth development. Gomez, Dele and Sancho will hope to continue proving him wrong.