Jadon Sancho made his Aston Villa debut in a Carabao Cup clash with Brentford on Tuesday evening, and the Manchester United loanee was supported by a number of his Old Trafford team-mates in doing so
Jadon Sancho applauds
Jadon Sancho made his Aston Villa debut on Tuesday(Image: Getty Images)
Bruno Fernandes was among the Manchester United players past and present to throw their support behind Jadon Sancho after the winger made his debut for Aston Villa.
The winger has endured a difficult time at Old Trafford since signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, failing to find his footing in the Premier League despite thriving in Germany. As a result, Sancho spent last season on loan with Chelsea, where he scored five goals and 10 assists across all competitions.
While the Blues had a £25million obligation to buy the 25-year-old as a result of finishing fourth in the league, the Stamford Bridge side ultimately opted to pay a £5m penalty to send him back to the north west. With Sancho not a part of Ruben Amorim's plans for 2025/26, Sancho was once again sent out on loan for the season, this time to Villa.
The England international marked his full debut for his new club in a 1-1 stalemate with Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening as Villa were knocked out after a tense penalty shootout. While it wasn't the result Sancho will have hoped for from his first game, he took to social media to celebrate kick-starting the next chapter of his career.
Sharing a selection of snaps from the game in an update shared to Instagram, Sancho wrote: "Happy to make my debut for @avfcofficial, not the result we wanted but something to build on."
A number of Sancho's United team-mates were quick to show their support for the 25-year-old. Among the names who liked the post were United club captain Fernandes, as well as Marcus Rashford - who is currently enjoying a loan spell of his own with Barcelona after falling out of favour with Amorim.
Elsewhere, youngsters Ethan Wheatley, who is on loan at Northampton Town, and Joe Hugill, who is enjoying his own loan stint with Barnet, showed their support. A number of Sancho's former team-mates in Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jesse Lingard and Tosin Adarabioyo were also among those who liked the post.
Meanwhile, Villa defender Ian Maatsen left a couple of love heart emojis in the comments section. Sancho's loan deal comes as he enters his final 12 months of contract with United, although the club have the option to extend his deal by a year to prevent him leaving on a free next summer.
Sancho isn't the only player who has been shipped out by United this summer after being omitted from Amorim's plans going forward. Rashford spent the latter half of last season on loan with Villa before returning to his parent club this summer.
He is now representing Barcelona on a season-long deal, with the La Liga giants also holding a £20m option to take him on permanently. Elsewhere, United have successfully offloaded Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea in a £40m deal.
Jadon Sancho chases the ball
Aston Villa suffered defeat in the Carabao Cup(Image: PA)
The Argentine has failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford in 2020 as a youth prospect, with the 21-year-old reportedly falling out with Amorim at the training ground this summer. As a result, he's now settling in to life at Stamford Bridge, making his debut in a 2-2 draw with Brentford at the weekend.
He could also feature in Chelsea's Champions League clash with Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening as Enzo Maresca looks to balance European and domestic workloads. Also departing United this summer was Antony, who joined Real Betis on a permanent contract after impressing with the Spanish side on loan last term.
Antony managed nine goals and five assists for Betis during his loan spell, and Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping for more of the same this season, after snapping the Brazilian up for an initial £19m plus add-ons.
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