Mario Melchiot calls out Chelsea star for being ‘too quiet’ in recent games

Mario Melchiot has called out Chelsea star Jadon Sancho for being ‘too quiet’ in Premier League games against West Ham and Manchester City.

Sancho, currently on a season-long loan at Chelsea from Manchester United, was hooked after just 52 minutes in the 2-1 win over West Ham and didn’t perform much better in the 3-1 defeat to City almost a fortnight ago.

The 24-year-old enjoyed a strong start when he first arrived at Stamford Bridge, conjuring up three assists in his first three Premier League games.

But his form has dipped in recent weeks with Sancho producing just one assist across his last nine top-flight appearances under Enzo Maresca.

Former Chelsea defender Melchiot has been left unimpressed with Sancho’s recent showings and has urged the winger to go up a level.

Quizzed about the England international while working as a football pundit for ESPN, Melchiot said: ‘I think the last couple of games, he’s gone a little bit too quiet.

‘The [Manchester] City game quiet, you know, it’s too quiet for me, especially as a winger and the talent.

‘He has the pace and the skill to make it really hard for a defender and at the moment, I can see he has comfortability the way he handles the ball.

‘But I don’t want to see him handle the ball, I want him to go beyond players. I want him to make the defenders… give them a hard time.

‘And at the moment, he’s not doing that and that’s why I feel like, ‘What’s going on with him?”

Chelsea head coach Maresca defended Sancho last month, insisting that the Englishman had ‘surprised’ him since joining the Blues from United.

‘For me he’s doing very well,’ Maresca said. ‘I am quite surprised with Jadon.

‘I knew Jadon already [from seeing him at his previous clubs] and I know what I expected from him, but in terms of being consistent, he’s doing very well.’