Joe Cole and Steve Sidwell excited about Jadon Sancho future after UEFA Conference League glory - ‘More to come from him'
Published 29/05/2025 at 08:20 GMT+1
Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho scored a stunning curling effort in Chelsea's 4-1 win over Real Betis in the UEFA Conference League final. After an up-and-down few years at Old Trafford, TNT Sports pundits Joe Cole and Steve Sidwell believe the winger has found his feet at Stamford Bridge and there is more to come from the 25-year-old after hoisting a European trophy.
‘More to come from him’ – Cole and Sidwell excited about Sancho future
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TNT Sports football experts Joe Cole and Steve Sidwell believe there is still more to come from Jadon Sancho, who starred in Chelsea's 4-1 UEFA Conference League final win over Real Betis.
Sancho, who is on loan from Manchester United, delivered a beautiful curling effort for The Blues' third goal late in the game.
With Chelsea having finished above 14th in the Premier League, the club reportedly have an obligation to sign the winger for around £25 million. A break clause exists, however, where Chelsea can pay £5m to send the 25-year-old back to Old Trafford.
Regardless, Cole believes Sancho, who played in last year's UEFA Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund, has managed to steady his career at Stamford Bridge.
"He's gone to Dortmund and he was a star, he's gone to Manchester United and it wasn't working," Cole said. "He's got his career back on track and I think there's more to come."
In 41 games for Chelsea since joining last summer, Sancho has racked up five goals and 10 assists.
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Sancho nets ‘glorious goal’ to put Chelsea in control against Betis
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CONFERENCE LEAGUE A 'STARTING POINT' FOR YOUNG BLUES
For Enzo Maresca, however, he has finished a stellar job of guiding a young and inexperienced squad to a European trophy and qualification for the Champions League.
He called the triumph a "starting point" for Chelsea, who are primed to improve as a youthful side matures.
"I'm very proud, I'm very happy," the Italian said after the match. "Personally, I feel good, but also because the fans deserve that - they've been waiting two or three years.
"The club has invested lots of money so they are often waiting for results. Hopefully this can be a starting point and from tonight we can create something important."
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He navigated difficult conversations with a bloated squad, and instead managed to harness that depth into a bilateral focus on the Conference League and the Premier League.
"The happiness was too much after Nottingham," he said. "You go all season waiting, so we struggled a bit in the first half and in the second half we were much better, and we are very happy.
"The message after Nottingham has been, 'Guys, if we want to be an important team, what we have done is done. Now we need to win the final - this was the message. But then the happiness, the tiredness. We had 48 hours less than them - they play Friday for nothing, we played Sunday for a big target."
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In perhaps a moment of overthinking, showing signs of his former colleague Pep Guardiola, Maresca decided to start Malo Gusto over club captain Reece James.
Gusto, despite featuring heavily over the entirety of the campaign and being utilised on both defensive flanks, has had little game time since the return of James.
"I promise you, I would always start with Reece, but I'm trying to protect him," Maresca explained to TNT Sports post-match.
"He's played more games this season than the last two or three. He's a top player for us, he's like Cole [Palmer]. The problem is we need to manage him. When I changed him, he said to me, 'Boss, don't worry, we're going to win the game.'"
Maresca was quick to defend Gusto and even called him one of his favourite players.
"Malo will tell you, he is one of my favourite players. The problem is that the first goal we conceded was from his pass. They are young, they don't understand that if you make a mistake, it doesn't matter.
"But after the mistake, he was out of the game. He knows that, but for me, he’s a top player."
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