English Premier League
“He needs to wake the F* up” — John Obi Mikel calls out Jadon Sancho
By Monsurah Olatunji
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has sharply criticized Jadon Sancho following Chelsea’s recent poor run of form, calling out the Manchester United loanee for his underwhelming performances.
Sancho, who joined Chelsea in the summer, initially impressed with an assist and a Player of the Match performance in a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth. His contributions in the following matches led fans to believe that he was on track to rediscover his best form.
However, the English winger has struggled since, with just two goals and one assist in his last 19 Premier League appearances.
On his Obi One Podcast, Mikel expressed his frustration with Sancho’s recent performances, accusing him of “deceiving” Chelsea.
“I watched the games, the game against West Ham was even worse than the game against Brighton. Against Brighton, there was no character, no intensity, no leaders on the pitch,” Mikel said.
He pointed out the lack of leadership, specifically criticizing Sancho’s failure to track back and contribute defensively: “There was no one telling Jadon Sancho, ‘Sancho, the first goal you should have tackled for that.’ There was no one telling Sancho, ‘What the f*** are you doing?'”
Mikel went on to express his disappointment with Sancho’s drop in form, lamenting that the player had “deceived” fans with his early good performances.
“He’s deceived us with a good couple of games. We thought, ‘Oh f***ing hell, now we’re getting this Jadon Sancho from Dortmund,’ but he’s gone again. He’s disappeared off the grid.
“He takes the ball, but he doesn’t go past people anymore, he doesn’t create chances anymore, he doesn’t help the team as much as he should.”
The 37-year-old former Chelsea midfielder didn’t hold back in urging Sancho to turn his career around.
“Jadon needs to step up. I don’t know what’s happened with Jadon, but Jadon Sancho needs to wake the f*** up. The Premier League is the toughest league in the world. If you don’t do it here,” he concluded.
