Manchester United players have raised serious concerns about Jadon Sancho ever playing for the club again, amid new claims a return to Old Trafford is on the cards and that Chelsea will abort a planned deal to sign him, though with four new sides also having been linked with a summer swoop.
The winger joined United in summer 2021 after a lengthy three-year pursuit resulted in a £73m move from Borussia Dortmund. However, the winger has rarely shown his very best for Manchester United, providing just 12 goals and six assists from 83 appearances for them so far.
And while a public falling out with former manager Erik ten Hag allowed a return to former side Dortmund over the second half of last season, the writing was on the wall for the 25-year-old at Old Trafford when he was then loaned to Chelsea throughout the 2024/25 campaign.
Despite a promising start though at Stamford Bridge, Sancho has lost his way in recent times to the point now where it is claimed that the Blues are considering paying a £5m penalty to go back on their obligation to turn his loan into a permanent summer move this summer.
That has evoked the possibility of Sancho returning to Carrington this summer. And while some observers have suggested the player is well equipped to shine under new boss Ruben Amorim and amid claims that technical director Jason Wilcox is a big believer in his abilities, speculation has arisen that a second chance could be afforded to the winger at Old Trafford.
However, as per the Manchester Evening News, some senior United stars have already raised reservations about Sancho’s potential return, based purely on the fact that he is not seen as good enough. As a result, it’s claimed by a source that there are already major misgivings about the remote possibility of Sancho returning this summer and being afforded a second chance.
And while it’s claimed influential figures in the United dressing room have no issues with Sancho personally, they do feel the fact that he struggled with the demands of playing for the club last time should be reason enough to avoid the temptation of going back in for more.
DON’T MISS 🚨 Amorim brutally plots 11 player clearout as Man Utd prepare to bin off £380m worth of signings
What next for Jadon Sancho as four clubs are linked
Despite claims that Chelsea are ready to turn their back on his proposed £25m summer swoop – and are ready to pay United a penalty payment of £5m to pull out the deal – sources have informed us it remains too early to decide if that is the case.
To that end, our transfer correspondent Fraser Fletcher is adamant the Blues are yet to reach a final verdict on the player’s future.
Earlier this week, Fletcher explained: ‘Chelsea are in the process of evaluating several of their players and Man Utd loanee Sancho, who has not impressed at Stamford Bridge, is one of those being looked at by the club’s hierarchy.
‘Sancho has scored just two goals in 28 games for Chelsea this season. TEAMtalk sources state that the Blues are still undecided over the winger, and they are reviewing him every day, both in training and his performances in matches.’
Fletcher added: ‘So far, though, the verdict from Chelsea is that Sancho’s performance has been poor. They are ‘obligated’ to sign him permanently for £25m, but can ‘opt out’ of that clause by paying a £5m fee to Man Utd.
‘If Sancho had been playing at his best, £25m would seem like a no-brainer, but he has failed to replicate his form at Dortmund with Chelsea, following on from his poor stint with Man Utd.
‘The fact that he is currently on huge wages, reported to be more than £250,000 per week, makes things more difficult for Chelsea. Man Utd are still paying a portion of his wage, but Chelsea would need to agree to pay him lucrative terms to sign permanently.’
As a result, Fletcher has also brought forward the possibility that Chelsea could still look to push through with the deal to avoid paying the sanction, though could yet offload him themselves this summer if they felt it would be better for their finances.
As a result, it was revealed earlier this week that Bayer Leverkusen had joined Borussia Dortmund in having expressed an interest in signing Sancho this summer, while interest in Serie A was also emerging with both Lazio and Roma evaluating a possible move.
Man Utd transfer latest: Antony exit hopes grow; Ronaldo advises star to move
Meanwhile, United have been given renewed hope of recouping a hefty portion of the enormous fee they shelled out for another wing flop in Antony this summer. That’s after a prominent manager waxed lyrical about the Brazilian and even suggested he now understands why the player commanded a €100m move.
Exits of both Sancho and Antony could leave United room to add another winger to their squad, with reports in recent days having mentioned Sporting CP’s former Wolves loanee Francisco Trincao as a potential summer target.
Now hopes of his signing have been given a sizeable fillip after iconic figure Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly advised his countryman of the merits of moving to Old Trafford. Could that be step one on the path to redemption for CR7 after his acrimonious exit?
Trincao might not be the only Sporting star to ditch Lisbon for Manchester this summer either after reports overnight claimedUnited are reportedly poised to step up their interest in Goncalo Inacio with the ‘exemplary’ defender seemingly on agreeing a summer switch.
IN-FOCUS: Sancho’s disappointing form for Chelsea by numbers
Jadon Sancho this season: Appearances 28 goals 2 assists 6 shots on target 5/9 crosses completed 0/24 times tackled 60 take-on success 55.8%