The name of Jadon Sancho was sung loud and clear by the travelling Chelsea fans on Saturday evening as the winger quickly endeared himself to the Blues faithful. Such support will only make him a better player, according to Enzo Maresca.
Sancho starred in the second half having come on for his Chelsea debut during the interval. He showed his skill and speed in front of the away fans and then, with time almost up, played the pass to Christopher Nkunku that led to the only goal of the game. Sancho was serenaded with a couple of different songs and Maresca explained the impact such backing will have on the 24-year-old.
‘I get the feeling that Jadon is a guy who needs love when I spoke to him before he joined us,’ said Maresca.
‘Also, I know that he has the desire to show the player that he is. For me he just needs to enjoy football. That is the reason he plays, to be happy when he plays football. Then because he is good, he wants to do good things.’
It may be the smallest allocation in the Premier League, but Maresca could appreciate the noise the Chelsea support made throughout the game at the Vitality Stadium. He made sure to praise them too.
'The fans were fantastic,’ he said.
‘I said to the players after the game to go over there and enjoy their time with the fans because they have come from London and they completely deserved this. It is always good when we win games, to share it with the fans.’