Bruno Fernandes was amongst the Manchester United stars past and present who rallied behind Jadon Sancho following the winger's debut for Aston Villa. The attacker has endured a torrid spell at Old Trafford since his switch from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, struggling to establish himself in the Premier League despite flourishing in Germany. Sancho spent the previous campaign on loan with Chelsea, netting five times and providing 10 assists in all competitions.
Whilst the Blues possessed a £25million obligation to purchase the 25-year-old following their fourth-place league finish, the Stamford Bridge outfit ultimately chose to pay a £5m penalty to return him to the north west. With Sancho excluded from Ruben Amorim's blueprint for 2025/26, the player was again loaned out for the campaign, this time to Villa. The England star marked his full bow for his new side in a 1-1 deadlock with Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night as Villa were eliminated following a nail-biting penalty shootout.
Whilst it wasn't the outcome Sancho would have desired from his maiden outing, he turned to social media to mark the beginning of his fresh chapter.
Posting a collection of images from the match in an Instagram update, Sancho penned: "Happy to make my debut for @avfcofficial, not the result we wanted but something to build on."
Several of Sancho's United colleagues were quick to back him. Among those who liked his post were club captain Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, currently on loan at Barcelona after falling out with Amorim.
Youngsters Ethan Wheatley, on loan at Northampton Town, and Joe Hugill, currently at Barnet, also showed their support. Former team-mates Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jesse Lingard and Tosin Adarabioyo were among those who liked the post.
Aston Villa defender Ian Maatsen left a couple of love heart emojis in the comments section. Sancho's loan deal comes as he enters the final year of his contract with United, although the club can extend his deal by a year to avoid him leaving for free next summer.
Sancho isn't the only player United have let go this summer after being left out of Amorim's plans. Rashford spent the second half of last season on loan at Villa before returning to Old Trafford this summer.
He is now playing for Barcelona on a season-long loan, with the Spanish giants holding a £20m option to make the move permanent. In other news, United have successfully sold Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea for £40m.
The Argentine youngster has struggled to make his mark at Old Trafford since joining as a promising youth player in 2020, with reports of a falling out with Amorim over the summer. Now, he's finding his feet at Stamford Bridge, having made his debut in a 2-2 draw against Brentford at the weekend.
He could also be in line for some Champions League action on Wednesday evening when Chelsea take on Bayern Munich, as manager Enzo Maresca juggles his squad between European and domestic commitments. Another departure from United this summer was Antony, who sealed a permanent move to Real Betis after a successful loan spell with the Spanish outfit last season.
During his time on loan, Antony netted nine goals and provided five assists, performances that convinced Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini to secure his services on a permanent basis for an initial fee of £19m, plus potential add-ons.