Jadon Sancho's former team-mate Bacary Sagna has claimed Manchester United have made a mistake letting him leave for Chelsea and insists the winger is "one of the best talents I've seen".
Sagna and Sancho crossed paths at Manchester City when the England international was just a teenager and was instantly impressed by what he saw - with the player first arriving at the Etihad at the age of just 14.
Former Arsenal defender and ex-France international Sagna had predicted Sancho would go on to great things after first training with him at City - and said he was baffled as to why things didn't work out with United after joining from Borussia Dortmund for £73million in 2021.
Speaking to Paddy Power, Sagna said he felt United's loss would be Chelsea's gain and tipped Sancho to have a "great impact" at Stamford Bridge this season, having already been named man of the match on his debut.
READ MORE: Man Utd warned they may have made biggest blunder of the transfer window
READ MORE: ‘Erik ten Hag is so strict and hates rules being broken - after our chat I left Man Utd’
“I trained with Jadon Sancho when he was 16, at Manchester City, and rated him as one of the best talents I’ve seen," he said. "He was shining at Borussia Dortmund – the two spells he’s had there, he was probably their best player.
"I can’t understand why it went wrong at Manchester United – it's an English team and a country he knew, spoke the language. I know he is very respectful; I don’t know what happened at United.
"For Chelsea to sign him, I think it’s great and he will be a constant threat. He’s from London as well – he’s back home with his family and his friends, so he has all the ingredients to have a great impact at such a massive club like Chelsea. I’m not surprised to see the impact he is having, because he already had that at 16 at Manchester City.”
Sancho fell out of favour at United after a dispute with manager Erik ten Hag - who initially dropped him over his training performances before banishing him to the reserves after the player denied claims he was underperforming.
The England international enjoyed a successful loan at Dortmund, playing 21 times and starting their Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid before returning to Old Trafford, though it quickly became clear he had no future with the club before sealing a deadline day loan to Chelsea.
Chelsea have an obligation to buy Sancho for £25m next summer and will be happy with his progress so far after watching him dazzle off the bench in their 1-0 win against Bournemouth last week - and he sent a pointed message to his old club after the game.
"I'm just happy to make my debut for Chelsea. I have to thank all the staff and my team-mates. The first day I came in, they made me feel welcome and I'm so happy to feel this comfortable."
His new boss Enzo Maresca said he "loved" Sancho after watching him play, adding: "Jadon is a very good player and I knew, because I know him, that he is a very good player and can help us.
"Now all the noise around him, I don't care. With us he's very polite, training well on and off the ball. We are happy for him."
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
