Jadon Sancho starred for Aston Villa in their win over Chelsea as he continues to enjoy his loan spell away from Manchester United
Wayne Rooney has explained why he was impressed by Jadon Sancho’s cameo performance for Aston Villa. Sancho left Manchester United during the summer transfer window to join Villa on loan for the remainder of the season.
Saturday night saw Villa in action against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Sancho given the chance to feature against his former club from the bench, having spent last season on loan at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea had the option of signing Sancho on a permanent deal from United in the summer, with a £25million obligation to buy clause included in the loan agreement.
However, the Londoners opted not to activate the clause and instead paid a penalty fee to United, which saw Sancho return to Old Trafford.
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This was despite Sancho playing a key role in helping Chelsea win the UEFA Conference League title, with the on-loan United star scoring in the final against Real Betis. However, he was not in the squad that travelled to the United States for the FIFA Club World Cup.
Sancho had been restricted to just 13 appearances for Villa before making a cameo from the bench against Chelsea on Saturday night.
The 25-year-old was not able to feature against United last week due to loan rules preventing players from going up against their parent clubs.
Rooney has explained why he was impressed by Sancho’s performance from the bench for Villa, with the United legend noting the forward’s lack of regular minutes this term.
“Jadon Sancho came into this as well, and we haven’t seen much of him this season, but I thought he was excellent when he came on,” Rooney said on BBC’s Match of the Day.
“Getting the ball, driving with the ball and committing the Chelsea defenders and then they had runners, they had Morgan Rogers making runs in behind.”
It remains to be seen what the future will hold for Sancho at United, with his contract at Old Trafford set to expire next summer.
The Reds do have the option of extending the deal by a further 12 months should they wish to do so, which could give United the opportunity to receive a fee for Sancho in the summer rather than see the former Borussia Dortmund star leave on a free transfer.
The next opportunity Sancho will have to star for Villa will be when they travel to face Premier League leaders Arsenal on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium, in their final match before the New Year.
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