Once again Manchester United were made to watch on as rivals Chelsea secured another Premier League victory, with thanks in part to the man they handed them on loan, Jadon Sancho.

By the break Enzo Maresca’s side commanded a 4-2 lead against their opponents. Man United supporter Cole Palmer has rightly been stealing the plaudits for his four-goal haul, becoming the first player to score that total during the first half of a match in the Premier League era.

But Sancho had a direct involvement in two of those strikes coming to pass. The 24-year-old firstly raced down the left flank, played a neat one-two with Enzo Fernandez then was brought to the ground within the 18-yard box clumsily by two Brighton defenders. Up stepped Palmer to score his second.

That may not have officially gone down on record as Sancho’s assist, though he would be able to celebrate when Palmer’s fourth hit the target as this one would count. The United loanee broke the lines with a pass and his Wythenshawe-born teammate rushed through to blast past Bart Verbruggen.

This takes Sancho’s contributions to three official assists in as many top-flight outings for the London club since transferring, having set up team-mates against Bournemouth and West Ham, and looks to be more at home at Stamford Bridge than he ever was at Old Trafford.

Of course there was a difficult nature to his eventual loan exit, having last season fallen out with manager Erik ten Hag. After a loan to Borussia Dortmund – with whom he also shone on a run to the Champions League final – he was allowed back into the fold during the summer, but then found opportunities to be scarce once competitive action resumed.

Now, having spent £72m on the player believing he would be the final piece in their attacking puzzle, United are set to make a net loss of around £50m on the player. As part of the agreement with Chelsea, they hold an obligation to buy if finishing 14th or higher in the final league standings, MEN Sport understands. Depending on where the Blues finish, United would pocket between £20m and £25m.