No Chelsea contact with ‘upset and confused’ Borussia Dortmund scapegoat Jadon Sancho — report

This intriguing (exclusive!) report comes from the BBC’s The Athletic’s David Ornstein, who has made a name for himself over the years as the closest thing to a Transfer Oracle that we may have in the Premier League — mostly with Arsenal rumors, but his purview has been expanding slowly and especially after joining The Athletic’s aggressive UK expansion this summer.

Ornstein’s latest report is on Jadon Sancho, who’s reportedly a transfer target for Chelsea. Speculation regarding the childhood Chelsea fan’s possible Blues future has been increasing steadily in recent months, as we approach the end of Chelsea’s transfer ban (either this January or in the summer, depending on how CAS rule in the next couple weeks).

But according to Ornstein, Chelsea have had “no conversations” with the 19-year-old (or more likely, his representatives), and that apparently puts us behind the likes of Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Real Madrid. Presumably Agent Tammy Abraham doesn’t count.

Of course, this is just the opening number in what is likely to be a long and fancy dance-off over Sancho.

What is perhaps even more intriguing than the number of teams monitoring the situation — which shouldn’t be surprising given Sancho’s combination of age, talent, and nationality — is that Sancho apparently feels quite unhappy at Dortmund these days, feeling that he’s been made a scapegoat for the team’s mixed results and getting thrown under the bus by his coaches.

“The Athletic understands [recent events have] left Sancho feeling humiliated, scapegoated and unprotected by his employers. [BVB’s] handling of the various issues are claimed to have upset and confused the player.”

“Sources close to Sancho intimate that the Londoner thinks he is being unfairly used to shoulder much of the blame. [He expects] shared responsibility with senior team-mates, which he feels has been lacking.”

-source: The Athletic

Ornstein goes on to claim that Sancho “intends” to sit down with the Dortmund hierarchy to discuss the situation, but that he also “anticipates” leaving the club after this season.

If Chelsea aren’t in the thick of things when the Sancho sweepstakes truly kick off, we will have missed a most obvious trick.