A fresh twist on Jadon Sancho’s potential return to Manchester United has emerged following Chelsea’s return to training this week.
In the final days of the 2024 summer transfer window, Jadon Sancho left Manchester United to join Chelsea on a season-long loan.
The deal included a clause that would see Chelsea pay £25 million to sign him permanently the following summer, though later reports suggested the club could back out by paying a £5 million fee.
Sancho had been sidelined by Erik ten Hag the previous season and sent on loan to Borussia Dortmund. Despite being welcomed back into the United squad in July 2024, his role at the club remained unclear.
Since joining Chelsea, Sancho has made 27 appearances, scoring twice and registering six assists—figures that have sparked criticism over his limited attacking impact.
Fresh twist in Sancho’s Chelsea future
There was a flurry of reports surrounding Sancho’s future at Chelsea once it emerged that their £5 million option to exit the payment obligation existed. However, it was quickly stated across multiple platforms that Chelsea planned on keeping the player and were happy with his performances.
However, in a new twist, Simon Johnson, who works with The Athletic covering Chelsea on Jadon Sancho, has claimed that the mood within the club toward Sancho has started to shift.
Chelsea and Sancho returned to first-team training earlier this week following the international break, and Johnson explained that he would now be surprised if the player stayed at Chelsea this summer.
“A bit like Chelsea themselves under Maresca, the last two or three months he’s gone off the ball,” Johnson explained to his co-hosts on The Athletic FC Podcast.
“Although I’m assured that no decision has been made yet and that it will be assessed at the end of the season, I’ll be surprised as things stand if Jadon Sancho ends up a Chelsea player still, because it just feels like the mood has started to shift towards him going back to Manchester United.
“I have to say, for five million and a half of his wages, it suddenly doesn’t look like a horrifically expensive mistake, even though it hasn’t particularly worked out brilliantly.”
What could happen to Sancho this summer?
While there are no guarantees that Sancho will be lining up for Chelsea at the beginning of next season, Chelsea may still choose to activate the £25 million clause.
Last week, reports emerged that Chelsea were considering the idea of activating the £25 million clause in Sancho’s contract but immediately trying to move him on this summer.
It was claimed that those within the Stamford Bridge outfit felt they would be able to sell the winger for over £25 million this summer, therefore turning over profit.
There have also been reports that Sancho wants to return to his former club, Borussia Dortmund, for the third time in his career. However, it was quickly stated within German media that the Bundesliga side would not prioritise any move for the 25-year-old.
“He’s not Borussia Dortmund’s priority, and certainly not the position,” German transfer specialist Patrick Berger stated on his latest podcast episode.
“You have Duranville, you have Adeyemi, Gittens — of course, you don’t know in terms of perspective, he’s part of the silverware, whether he’ll leave the club at some point.
“But you have Beier, who can play there. You don’t have the need for that position right now.
“It’s not a hot topic at the moment because it would obviously be an insane amount of money. Of course, the situation surrounding Jadon remains interesting and will be monitored.”
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