The future of Jadon Sancho is up in the air after Chelsea sent him back to Manchester United following his loan spell last season.
Chelsea had an obligation to buy Sancho if they finished in the top 14 of the Premier League, which they comfortably achieved. However, they could also pay a penalty fee to avoid having to buy the winger, which they chose to make use of. Thus, Man Utd are faced with a fresh dilemma about what to do with the 25-year-old.
Sancho’s time as a United player has been extremely turbulent. Although the Red Devils spent the best part of a year chasing him from Borussia Dortmund and paid £73m to get the deal done, he has struggled to provide consistent value.
The Chelsea spell was Sancho’s second loan away from United after a fall-out with previous manager Erik ten Hag led to him re-joining Dortmund for the second half of the 2023-24 season.
Since then, Ruben Amorim has taken the reins as United’s head coach, but there is still no place for Sancho in the plans at Old Trafford.
A summer sale seems to be in everyone’s best interests, but after Chelsea backed out of a deal due to a failure to agree personal terms following his five-goal loan spell, it remains a mystery as to who Sancho will be playing for next season.
So, who’s in the race to rescue Sancho from his United nightmare? Here’s a recap of all the clubs mentioned in the media so far.
PREMIER LEAGUE
Aston Villa
After taking Marcus Rashford on loan from United in February, Villa have been sizing up his fellow Old Trafford outcast Sancho.
TEAMtalk’s Rudy Galetti revealed on June 4 that Villa are considering Sancho as a replacement for Rashford on the left wing.
Villa’s interest has since been confirmed by The Sun, who claim they would prefer a loan deal. However, the problem is that Sancho’s United contract only runs until the end of next season.
Brentford
With Bryan Mbeumo heavily linked with a move to United, Sports Boom has revealed Brentford’s interest in taking Sancho in the opposite direction, which would keep him in west London after his Chelsea stint.
The two touted deals would be separate from one another and not intertwined in any kind of part-exchange, but it could be a solution to satisfy both clubs.
Newcastle United
After securing Champions League qualification, Newcastle have been monitoring Sancho’s situation, according to The Sun.
Eddie Howe wants to add another explosive winger to his squad, although TEAMtalk understands there are other options like former United youngster Anthony Elanga, now of Nottingham Forest, under closer consideration.
Tottenham Hotspur
The same paper claims Spurs are at the same stage of their interest in Sancho, also after qualifying for the Champions League by beating United in the Europa League final.
Ange Postecoglou has been ousted as head coach and has been succeeded by Thomas Frank. Any hopes Frank had of getting Mbeumo to follow him across London, though, seem to have been scuppered by United.
Therefore, if Spurs are still short of a winger, they will have to be looking around for other options.
West Ham United
This link seems to have been driven more from a United side, with Caught Offside claiming Sancho has been offered to West Ham as a makeweight for Mohammed Kudus.
It seems unlikely the Hammers will be too receptive at this stage. Kudus is too valuable to them for the exchange to be worth too much consideration – and besides, United’s intentions to sign Mbeumo would reduce their need for Kudus anyway.
Wolves
Back in April, Football Transfers claimed Wolves were showing ‘serious’ interest in Sancho. They have already done business with United since by selling them Matheus Cunha.
Any move in the opposite direction for Sancho would now be as part of a separate deal, since United signed Cunha by activating a release clause.
DON’T MISS – Every completed Man Utd transfer in summer 2025: Signings, exits, loans
SERIE A
AC Milan
There are five potential options for Sancho to move to Italy. The aforementioned TEAMtalk report by Galetti also revealed that AC Milan have asked for information about Sancho, who could become a replacement for Rafael Leao if the Portugal forward leaves.
Milan are preparing for a new era after the return of Massimiliano Allegri as their head coach.
Juventus
While he wouldn’t be a priority for Juventus, Turin-based paper Tuttosport has claimed Sancho is back on their radar.
Juventus were strongly weighing up a move for Sancho last summer, prior to his Chelsea switch, but the Old Lady cooled their interest due to the excessive terms being requested.
Lazio
TEAMtalk’s Fraser Fletcher revealed in March that Lazio were keen on Sancho. Since then, they have changed their coach, with Maurizio Sarri returning in place of Marco Baroni.
There’s always room for wingers in a Sarri system, though, so it’ll be interesting to see if they rekindle their interest.
Napoli
As confirmed by Galetti, Serie A champions Napoli have added Sancho to their shortlist for the left-wing role vacated by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January.
Napoli only ever signed a temporary replacement for Kvaratskhelia. To build on their title success, Antonio Conte’s side are now on the hunt for a high-quality winger and have a few options up their sleeve.
Interestingly, the shortlist also includes Alejandro Garnacho, another winger who seems destined to leave United this summer and has been a long-term target for the Serie A side.
Roma
Fletcher’s report for TEAMtalk also listed Roma as an interested party for Sancho as of a few months ago, but they too have a new coach in place after Gian Piero Gasperini succeeded Claudio Ranieri.
Still, there are a lack of wingers in their squad and it may be an area they address.
Jadon Sancho in Chelsea kit: 41 games 5 goals 10 assists
Sancho’s stats from his loan spell with Chelsea
BUNDESLIGA
Bayer Leverkusen
TEAMtalk’s Fletcher revealed in March that Bayer Leverkusen were interested in Sancho, reporting that was then backed up by other sources such as Give Me Sport.
But this was all before they appointed Ten Hag – with whom Sancho famously fell out in Manchester – took charge of the German club.
Ten Hag and Sancho did make up before the Chelsea loan was signed off, while Leverkusen will have a Florian Wirtz-shaped void to fill soon in their attack, but it would seem unlikely for a reunion to be orchestrated.
Borussia Dortmund
Could the most obvious solution for Sancho be a return to where he enjoyed his best success? United have already sent him back to Dortmund on loan once and TEAMtalk gathered in March that the black and yellows would still be keen, as verified by The Athletic in June too with an update claiming he could move into a more central role in a 3-4-2-1 system not dissimilar to Amorim’s.
But the Bundesliga club themselves have tried to play down talk of a return, especially after investing in another English talent, Jobe Bellingham.
“Of course, contact with Jadon is always there, in some way, because we have a very long history,” sporting director Sebastien Kehl said before the Club World Cup.
“But it’s not an issue for us right now. We have other priorities at the moment, and that’s why the Sancho issue was probably played up more in the media than discussed internally.”
SAUDI PRO LEAGUE
Al Hilal
A permanent move for Sancho at Chelsea collapsed due to his wages, but the high-spending Saudi Pro League should be able to meet his needs.
Al Hilal, who have just attracted Simone Inzaghi as their new coach, are one of three clubs linked by the Daily Mirror.
After the release of Neymar in January, Al Hilal have been on a mission to bring in more high-profile talent, although many of their approaches for targets have failed thus far.
Al-Ittihad
The second Saudi club in contention are Al-Ittihad, who won the Pro League in 2024-25 and are similarly backed by the country’s Public Investment Fund.
Al-Ittihad’s attack already contains familiar faces like Karim Benzema and Moussa Diaby.
Al-Nassr
Finally, Al-Nassr complete the crop of Saudi sides that could sign Sancho, who would link up with Cristiano Ronaldo by doing so.
Ronaldo and Sancho shared a pitch 37 times for United before the five-time Ballon d’Or winner kickstarted the wave of high-pedigree players moving to Saudi Arabia.
TURKISH SUPER LIG
Fenerbahce
It was claimed in May by Turkish source Yeni Asir that Sancho was being followed by Fenerbahce, whose head coach Jose Mourinho would apparently approve the move.
Another Turkish source, Milliyet, has hinted at a club-to-club meeting with Fenerbahce officials in Manchester.
The Turkish Super Lig can represent a landing spot for players in difficult situations, but the country’s rumour mill can also go into overdrive, so links should be treated with caution until any stronger information develops.
Galatasaray
Recent TEAMtalk contributor Ben Jacobs has revealed that Galatasaray have genuine interest in Sancho, but his wages might be more of an obstacle for them than his transfer fee.
It was an incredible coup by Galatasaray to bring in Victor Osimhen on loan last summer and they are willing to invest heavily in a permanent deal for the Napoli striker, so it remains to be seen how much wiggle room they’d have left for someone like Sancho in addition.
READ NEXT – Man Utd striker targets: EVERY option linked for the summer