After securing a loan move away from Manchester United in the summer transfer window, the chances of Jadon Sancho joining Aston Villa permanently have been revealed
It has now been two years since the saga surrounding a move away for Jadon Sancho started, after his and former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’s public fallout led to him being frozen out of the squad.
Despite a number of clubs interested in a permanent move for the once exciting prospect, United have struggled to move the winger on, and have loaned him out twice in two years, once back to his former club Borussia Dortmund for the remainder of the 2023/24 season, and to Chelsea for the 2024/25 campaign.
Even though Chelsea’s loan deal including an obligation to buy, the London outfit chose to pay a £5 million penalty fee to opt out of the £25 million price tag given to the winger.
Going into the summer transfer window, Ruben Amorim’s side stuck to this price tag, and despite attracting attention from the likes of AS Roma, Juventus and Fenerbahce, Sancho rejected these approaches, and instead secured yet another loan deal, this time to Aston Villa, on deadline day.
Aston Villa could make Sancho loan deal permanent
With just one year left on his deal, concern was raised that he could leave for free after his loan comes to an end, but United hold the option of extending his deal a further 12 months, something that they look likely to activate to get some kind of fee for the 25-year-old.
Aston Villa themselves could make a permanent move for the winger if he impresses in Birmingham by the time the January transfer window comes around, as reported by Football Insider. The outlet’s transfer correspondent, Pete O’Rourke said: “With Sancho, it depends on how he gets on with Aston Villa.
“He had a very successful loan at Borussia Dortmund two seasons ago, it didn’t really work out for him at Chelsea last year and they decided not to make it permanent.
“Villa are hopeful he will be a success for them and then they’ll look at making the deal permanent.
“The big thing for him now is to be playing football and playing regularly. The talent is there, there’s no doubt about that, and he will be hoping he can get back to his best.
“It would be good for United as well because it would put him in the shop window and potentially increase his price tag ahead of next summer.“
Win-Win scenario for United
Despite United pushing for a permanent move, something Sancho rejected, they were able to get most of his reported £250,000-a-week off the books, with Aston Villa covering 80% of Sancho’s wages.
With Sancho now getting his desired move to a club he has been linked to for some time, he is under immense pressure to turn his career around.
It truly is a make or break season for Sancho, and an upturn in performances could command a potential transfer fee next summer if they activate the contract extension.
Sancho is ultimately no longer United’s problem, and if they opt not to activate the one year extension to his deal, they would have still saved around £30 million in saved wages and fees across his three loan moves, as it would allow all parties to move on from a move that has been a massive failure for both parties.
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