Manchester United have reportedly already made a definitive decision on Jadon Sancho amid his mediocre start to life at Aston Villa.
Since arriving at Aston Villa on loan in September, Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho has had to bide his time for a real chance to make an impact.
After a reasonably positive loan at Chelsea, he might have anticipated a comparable experience this season. Instead, it has been a frustrating spell, with the English winger starting only three of his eight appearances.
Unai Emery’s side earned an impressive victory against Manchester City two weeks ago, but the afternoon was difficult for Sancho, who went through an ordeal no player wants to face.
He replaced the injured Emi Buendía in the first half, only to be taken off again midway through the second half. A week later, he featured for just 19 minutes in a 4–0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth.
Sancho will leave United for free this summer
Sancho’s current contract sees the player dissociate from United at the end of June 2026, although United have the option to extend the deal by a further season.
However, according to Football Insider, this is not something that the club are considering, as they are not willing to commit up to an extra £13 million to extend his deal and retain his value.
The report states that sources consider his Old Trafford career as “definitely” over, and that he will become a free agent in the summer transfer window.
Furthermore, it’s indicated that while Borussia Dortmund remains interested in re-signing the player for the third time in his career, Emery and Villa have not been impressed with the 25-year-old and are currently distancing themselves from signing him for free next summer, effectively pulling out of the race for him unless his form improves.
United’s Sancho failure will not happen again
Before United finally signed Sancho in August 2021 for a fee of around £73 million from Dortmund, they had spent 18 months tracking and speaking with the winger. The hype around the deal made it feel as if United had signed a world-beater for the future.
However, as the seasons rolled on, Sancho had personal problems to deal with, which United allowed him time off for. Following his return, reports emerged that the winger frequently clashed with many at the club, with those inside Old Trafford indicating a fundamental attitude problem.
Following his fallout with Erik ten Hag in September 2023, Sancho has not played a competitive fixture for United since, and the club has learned its lesson.
Under Rúben Amorim, both the head coach and United’s board have made it clear that assessing a player’s attitude and personality has become a key aspect of their recruitment process.
With United now conducting extensive research into a player’s character away from football when assessing a possible transfer, this has become a crucial factor in their decision-making.
Sancho’s five years on the books at Old Trafford will likely disappoint those who had high expectations for the player in 2021, but ultimately, the lessons learned from the deal will serve the club well in the coming years.
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