England and Dortmund star Jadon Sancho has revealed that Chelsea legends Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were two of his biggest inspirations when he was growing up.
The 21-year-old winger is being strongly linked with a move to Manchester United, with the Red Devils believed to have had a £67m bid for the player rejected.
But as a child raised in South London Chelsea were the team Sancho followed, and he has previously opened up about his love for the Blues.
Speaking in an interview with talkSPORT, Sancho was asked who were his main footballing models during his youth.
And it came as no surprise that he provided two Stamford Bridge heroes as his answer.
(Image: REUTERS)
“I’d probably say Frank Lampard,” Sancho said. “I was a Chelsea fan growing up, I can’t lie! Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard were my favourite players at the time.
“I just love Frank Lampard and how he played his game; he was so direct and so composed on the ball. I like things like that.”
There has been much talk about Sancho’s seemingly imminent switch to Old Trafford, and it seems only a matter of time until a deal is done.
Sancho also admitted that his Three Lions teammates have been grilling him about the situation, saying: “All the boys have a lot of questions. I just tell them – ‘look, I’m just focused on football at the moment’.
“I’m cool about it. There’s always going to be speculation, especially when you do well.
“It’s just how you handle that on the pitch and just keep doing what you’re doing.
“If you keep on doing that then I’m sure that won’t be a problem because the main thing is my football and that’s what I’m focused on at the moment.”
His value could even take a boost if he has a sparkling Euro 2020 but Sancho admitted he is not overly hopeful of starting against Croatia on Sunday.
He said: “Because there’s a lot of competition in those kinds of positions, I wouldn’t say I’m the most confident.
“But I believe in myself. I feel like if I get the opportunity, I can show what I can do on the pitch.
“I can definitely help the team out with goals and assists.
“This team is a great bunch of lads, people all have different attributes and to be a part of it is just an amazing feeling.”
