Man Utd warned they may have made biggest blunder of the transfer window
Man Utd offloaded adon Sancho on loan to Chelsea on transfer deadline day, with David James claiming the decision could come back to haunt them and make them look foolish
by David McDonnell · The MirrorManchester United's decision to offload Jadon Sancho to Chelsea could prove the biggest blunder of the transfer window – according to David James.
Sancho was sent on loan to Chelsea - with an obligation to buy - until the end of the season, in a deal brokered late on transfer deadline day, with United desperate to be rid of him.
The winger, who spent the second half of last season on loan at former club Borussia Dortmund, had fallen out with United boss Erik ten Hag, and their relationship had never recovered.
But former England goalkeeper James reckons United's desperation to jettison Sancho could come back to haunt them and make them look foolish, if the 24-year-old's impressive second-half cameo in Sunday's 1-0 win over Bournemouth is an indicator of what is to come.
“My signing of the window has to be Chelsea’s capture of Sancho,” said James. “He had a good debut against Bournemouth - looked really lively, and there’s no doubt that there is a player in there.
“He’s shown what he’s all about at his two spells with Dortmund. There was something about him at United which, for whatever reason, obviously didn't work.
“That can happen with players, particularly young ones, sometimes moves just don’t work out. His second spell at Dortmund re-energised him. It gave him the belief that he can operate at the highest level after his confidence was knocked at United.
“He’s going to get lots of opportunities to showcase his talent at Chelsea this season. I think it’s a great signing and a new environment could be exactly what he needs to start demonstrating that he is one of the best attacking players in the Premier League.
“In many ways, it’s similar to Cole Palmer. Chelsea are going to give him a platform to express himself. If he can follow in Palmer’s footsteps, then it’s a fantastic piece of business and one that could leave United looking pretty foolish indeed, especially if they keep on struggling.”
James said Manchester City's decision to let Cole Palmer leave for Chelsea last year was the right one, despite the England star flourishing at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer scored 27 goals for Chelsea last season and James said: “You can’t say that Pep Guardiola’s decision to sell Palmer was the wrong one, because City won the Premier League last season - they just keep winning trophies.
“If that wasn’t the case and Palmer was the difference between winning the title and losing it, then it becomes a different matter.
“What I love about Pep, and you can tell that he genuinely means what he says about his former players because he loves football so much, is that he wants Palmer to be successful and have a great career. He wants him to have the opportunity to become an established Premier League star.
“Palmer blossomed into one of the best players in the league last season, and he did that with Guardiola’s full blessing. That's what he would have wanted to see from his former player.
“I don’t think Pep could give him the assurances that he wanted in terms of his playing time, and he didn’t quite fit into the City set-up, so he was allowed to leave.
“Pep did the right thing by allowing him to go because his absence had no impact on City’s ability to win trophies.”
*The full interview with David James can be found at safestcasinosites.co.uk
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