Jadon Sancho is reportedly facing the prospect of seeing his season-long loan agreement with Manchester United terminated following his unconvincing form.
After the dramatic 4-4 draw against Bournemouth, Manchester United are taking on Aston Villa at Villa Park in the Premier League, where a win would take them to 29 points, level with Chelsea in fourth.
The Red Devils will be without the AFCON absentees of Bryan Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazaroui, as well as Casemiro, who is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Harry Maguire and Matthijs De Ligt are both also reportedly still injured.
As for Aston Villa, Jadon Sancho will be unable to feature as he cannot play against his parent side. Victor Lindelof will also be playing against Manchester United for the first time since leaving in the summer after the expiration of his contract.
The West Midlands outfit have not only won all nine of their previous games, but have also been unbeaten at home this season.
Emery open to releasing Sancho
Since Sancho’s £73 million move to Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, it has been a disappointing stint to say the least.
After struggling to agree on contract terms to make his loan move permanent to Chelsea last summer, the English winger followed the path of Marcus Rashford last season and made the switch to Aston Villa.
Not only was he hoping to rediscover his best form, but United wanted him to raise his decreasing transfer value.
However, after only playing 550 minutes across 13 games with only five starts, according to Graeme Bailey at TeamTalk, his nightmare move could soon be over. Unai Emery has yet to be convinced by the 25-year-old and is open to letting him go back to Manchester United.
United reportedly do not have a recall option, nor do they want to bring him back, and neither do Villa have the option to send him back. However, should other clubs want to take over the loan or sign him peremantly then Villa would be able to cut their losses that way.
Sancho leaving marks the end of an era
With his current contract set to expire in June 2026, either way, Jadon Sancho is seemingly unlikely to ever don the United shirt again.
His departure from the club will mark an end to one of United’s worst periods of transfer business, which INEOS have shifted from.
After years of paying over the odds with transfer fees and paying huge wages for players that never perform, to now signing Premier League proven talent mixed with some of the best young talent in the world.
This shift, despite being a long-term approach, has already borne fruit this season with the likes of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško revolutionising United’s attack, and Senne Lammens bringing a feeling of ease to the goalkeeping department.
There is a long way to go still for United, but the loss of Sancho in this cutthroat manner, one way or another, is a clear marker of the way this new United are operating in the market.
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