Jadon Sancho is reportedly not guaranteed to complete a permanent transfer from Manchester United to Chelsea.
On Friday evening, the two Premier League giants successfully negotiated the loan switch to Stamford Bridge for the winger.
With Chelsea having allowed Raheem Sterling to move to Arsenal, the decision was made to bring in his fellow England international.
Having failed to appear in United's opening two top-flight fixtures for 2024-25, the 24-year-old may require time to get up to speed.
His debut will also not come until after the international break having not joined the West Londoners ahead of the Friday midday deadline for games to be played this weekend.
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Why a permanent transfer is not guaranteed
Multiple reports have suggested that Chelsea are obligated to complete the permanent signing of Sancho at the end of the season.
A fee somewhere between £20m and £25m will allegedly be due, United making a significant loss on the £73m deal that they conducted with Borussia Dortmund three years ago.
However, according to James Ducker of The Telegraph, there is a way in which Sancho would be forced to return to Old Trafford.
Chelsea reportedly need to finish in the top 14 of the Premier League in order to automatically finalise a full-time move for the attacker.
Achieving such a position is highly likely given that Chelsea have not finished lower than 14th since their relegation campaign in 1987-88.
Ducker adds that Chelsea will need to pay a bigger fee to United the higher that they finish in the top-flight standings.
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Will Sancho earn regular game time under Maresca?
Although Enzo Maresca is unlikely to have been against the arrival of Sancho, the Italian may have been satisfied to have one fewer option at his disposal.
There were already six senior players who could be deployed in one of the two wide positions, albeit with several of them also having able to play elsewhere.
