Chelsea boss reiterates stance on Jadon Sancho after England winger makes return to starting XI for first time in a month

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ENZO Maresca has reiterated the importance of Jadon Sancho to his Chelsea side. 

England winger Sancho retuned to the starting XI for the first time since last month’s 2-1 defeat against Liverpool. 

Sancho played 89 minutes in the Blues’ 2-0 win at Heidenheim in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night. 

“I have said since we started that Jadon is very important for us. He has to be fit mentally and physically, because he is going to help us a lot,” Maresca said. 

“Unfortunately we couldn’t use him for a few games, but last night he showed again how important he is for us.

“He is what we need, especially against a team that defends with a low block. We need that quality in the last third, the last pass and he can shoot, sometimes he will shoot more than he did against Heidenheim. But I think he is going to help us a lot.” 

Maresca again rotated his side, with Mykhailo Mudryk netting his third goal in the competition this season after Christopher Nkunku’s opener. 

Chelsea host Aston Villa on Sunday and travel to Southampton on Wednesday. 

Maresca said: “We need all of them taking the chance when we can give them the chance, so it’s important that they are ready when they get that chance.

“Now we have a game on Sunday and then we have a game on Wednesday. We have nine games in December, it’s more or less a game every two or three days. They are going to get more chances, so that is what we need, for them to be ready.

“I know that they all want to play more, but we have 25 good players and they all deserve to play. They are working fantastic and we are going to share minutes in the next games, because we have so many games and it is the normal thing to do.”

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