William Gallas says Chelsea star ‘can’t stay’ after Arsenal display | Football

William Gallas was left unimpressed with Jadon Sancho’s performance against Arsenal and urged Chelsea to reconsider their decision to sign him permenantly.

Mikel Merino’s first-half header was the difference at the Emirates on Sunday as Enzo Maresca’s side slide to their third defeat in their last five Premier League games.

Missing key attacking players like Cole Palmer, Chelsea produced a flat attacking display and managed just three shots on goal in the entire 90 minutes.

Starting his third successive game, Sancho once again flattered to deceive as he continued his concerning form after an encouraging start to life at Stamford Bridge.

The 24-year-old notched up three assists in his first three games with the club, but has just one goal contribution since the turn of the year, an assist against Crystal Palace on January 4.

Sancho joined Chelsea on a loan deal from Manchester United at the end of the summer window, with the deal set to become permanent for a fee between £22million and £25million if the Blues finish 14th or higher.

However, recent reports have now suggested that Chelsea could back out of the agreement if they pay United a ‘significant’ fee.

And having watched Sancho’s latest quiet performance at the Emirates, former Chelsea centre-back Gallas thinks his former club should seriously consider that option.

‘That player has talent. He’s a talented player, everybody knows this, but we don’t know why he can’t perform and can’t show what he can do,’ Gallas said of Sancho on Stadium Astro.

‘At Dortmund, he was magnificent. At Manchester United it didn’t work well for him. He came to Chelsea and at the beginning we saw that Sancho from Dortmund, but then he disappeared.

‘I don’t know what the problem is, but at the moment he can’t stay at Chelsea because he has to do more.

‘When you play in the Premier League you have to play every game at the highest level. It’s not easy, but you can’t just play well for a few games and then chill out.’

Asked specifically about Sancho’s performance against Arsenal, Gallas added: ‘Did you see him dribble past his left-back today? No. He did nothing.

‘He didn’t challenge his left-back opponent. He always gets the ball, does some skills, and then passes the ball back. We want to see more, especially when you are the winger.’

Maresca, meanwhile, was hopeful that the return of key players will get his side back to their best attacking best after the international break.

‘It’s a huge difference if you think of the three players with most goals for us are Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke,’ he said.

‘Not one of them was on the pitch today. For two of them, they have already been out a long time, so it is normal that offensively we struggle a little bit, even if – until today – we are the second or the third best attacking team in the league.

‘That means in any case we are doing well without those players but we could do better with the players that are injured at the moment.’

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