Former Chelsea midfielder Gus Poyet believes that Jadon Sancho’s lack of consistency is holding his career back at Stamford Bridge.

There has been speculation that the 25-year-old could be sent back to Manchester United and, speaking exclusively to Chelsea News (courtesy of Discasino.com), Poyet said that he would bee keen to know more about Sancho’s personality to discover why he doesn’t perform week-in, week-out:

“To make a strong decision on Sancho, I would like to know him personally, his personality, his training, you know, so many things that influence [you when] buying a player.”

“Now, I got very excited when he [first] arrived at Chelsea. Then I thought, ‘OK, here we go, you know, the up and downs, they disappear.’ Now, when it looks like he was not even part of a team anymore, went in [against Ipswich], bang, top corner…”

“It’s more about knowing the personality of the player. I think it’s very important nowadays. It’s something that is missing in that data that we talked before, recruitment.”

Poyet feels that a player’s mentality is unquantifiable and, in Sancho’s case, he fears that inconsistency may simply be part of his game:

“You can have all the numbers of a player, how many games you play, speed, passing ability, blah, blah, blah, blah but what is his personality? What about his personal life? What about his training method?… So many things influence the consistency of the player.”

“That now for me is becoming the most important [part] and you cannot mention the mental side. We cannot measure it. There is not a system [out there] where you will say, ‘Oh, he’s 7 out of 10 mentally, no’. And that’s the problem with the wingers.”

“The players that play on the wing normally they have ups and downs. They have great moments that they are unstoppable and then they’re gonna drop, so maybe the option is to have enough [of them], let’s say 4, 2 and 2 that you use them depending on their momentum. When he [Sancho] arrived at Chelsea, he’s an incredible player. Now, how can you make him more consistent? It’s difficult [to] answer.”

Maresca has cast doubt on the player’s future at Chelsea

Speaking about Sancho at the start of the month, head coach Enzo Maresca did not play down speculation about the winger’s future when he said that he “could do better”.

When asked again at the weekend, the Italian refused to be drawn on what could happen, simply stating that a decision would be made when the season is over.

What is the current situation with Sancho?

The Blues have an obligation to buy the England international for £25m at the end of June, but they included a clause which means they can rip up the agreement if they pay United £5m in compensation.

Sancho’s poor form has led many to assume that the forward would return to Old Trafford this summer, although his improvement over the last couple of games may lead to a reassessment, especially if he can carry on in the same vein for the rest of the campaign.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here