Jadon Sancho holds out hope for Chelsea offer as Juventus wait in wings

Jadon Sancho is holding out for an offer from Chelsea despite ­Juventus persisting with their efforts to sign the winger on loan from Man­chester United.

Chelsea, who have been stepping up their attempts to sign Napoli’s ­Victor Osimhen, are looking at an ­opportunistic move for Sancho. They have held talks with United over a swap deal involving Raheem ­Sterling, who is out of favour at Stamford Bridge. United have shown little interest in Ben Chilwell despite being offered the Chelsea left-back.

While little progress has been made with moving Sterling, it is understood Chelsea remain in the running to take Sancho in a separate deal. The 24-year-old, who is not in Erik ten Hag’s plans at United, is thought to have indicated a ­preference to join Chelsea over Juventus.

The situation is open and Juve have not given up on signing ­Sancho on a temporary basis. But while Enzo Maresca is not short of wide players, he did not shut down links with the former Borussia ­Dortmund attacker before the second leg of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League playoff in Geneva on Thursday night.

“If we have to sign a player just for signing, I don’t want it,” the Chelsea head coach said.

“But if we can sign a player who can help us, for sure I want it. I know Jadon very well from many years with [Manchester] City. I know him very well. But he is not our player. We will see what happens.”

Chelsea are in a strong position against Servette after beating the Swiss side 2-0 at Stamford Bridge last week. The job is not done, though, and Maresca warned his players to avoid complacency. He is also ­worried about the state of the pitch at Stade de Genève.

The immediate focus is on ­securing European football, although Maresca also has to contend with the ­unpredictability of the transfer market. He insisted Chelsea are not as crazy as they seem to outsiders.

Chelsea are working to trim a packed squad and Maresca has been ruthless with Sterling, who wants to resolve his contractual situation before assessing his future.

Serious interest is yet to materialise in ­Sterling, who has three years left on a deal worth £325,000 a week, and there is a chance he will not leave this week. But Maresca warned the 29‑year‑old, who is part of a group ostracised from the first-team group, that he will have no chance of playing if he stays at Chelsea.

“He knows exactly what he has to do,” Maresca said. “He doesn’t need my advice. I prefer to be honest with the player. . I don’t know what happens when the window closes. We will see who is here and who is not here.

“The only thing I can say is the ones who are going to get minutes are the ones who I think can help us. It’s not just Raheem. It’s all the players who are training apart. The moment the transfer ­window closes, they are not going to get ­minutes. I’ve already been clear with them and honest.”

Maresca is keen to bring in a striker and a defender. Chelsea are making a strong play for Osimhen but the Napoli forward has received a huge offer from the Saudi Pro League side, Al Ahli. The Nigeria striker, who has also been targeted by Paris Saint-Germain, would need to fit into Chelsea’s structure for a deal.

Chelsea have drawn up contingency plans and are monitoring Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Al Ahli are also pushing for Toney, whose contract expires next year.

Maresca will look to sign a centre-back if Chelsea are able to sell Trevoh Chalobah or Axel Disasi. Contact has been made with Benfica over Tomás Araújo. The 22-year-old centre-back is seen by PSG as a potential replacement for Milan Skriniar but Benfica are determined not to be forced into a sale.

Chelsea will be without Reece James, Malo Gusto, Roméo Lavia, João Félix and Pedro Neto against Servette.