Manchester United players do not believe Jadon Sancho is good enough to play for the club, it has been revealed.
Despite having no issues with Sancho's character, influential members of the United squad felt he struggled with the pressures associated with playing for such a prestigious club, leading up to his exclusion from the team by ex-manager Erik ten Hag around 18 months ago, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Currently on loan at Chelsea, Sancho's future seems set as the Blues have an obligation to buy the winger for a fee between £20million and £25million. The west London are tied to a £5million penalty if they decide against turning Sancho's temporary stay into a permanent one.
United previously acquired Sancho for a hefty £72.9million from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, and his contract is due to run out next summer. If Chelsea do not opt to purchase Sancho, United would require a fee of £14.58m to sell him and avoid a loss under the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules.
The cost of a player is spread over the length of their contract and there is next to no chance of Sancho being in a position where United would trigger the one-year extension in his deal in 2026.
Earlier this month, United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe identified Sancho as one among five individuals under contract who he deemed either "not good enough" or "overpaid". Sancho has featured in Chelsea's starting lineup on 19 occasions but has only seen out the full 90 minutes eight times. With two goals scored during his time at Chelsea, Sancho has not played for England since September 2021.
Sancho was at the centre of controversy when in February he mocked Marcus Rashford's temporary switch from United to Aston Villa with a "Freedom" comment on Rashford's Instagram post announcing his move. The relationship between Erik ten Hag and Sancho took a turn for the better after a meeting early in the pre-season, yet it remained unclear whether Sancho had issued an apology for directly accusing Ten Hag of dishonesty surrounding his absence from the squad during the September 2023 match against Arsenal. Ten Hag attributed Sancho's omission to poor training form.
After his loan spell with former team Borussia Dortmund in the latter half of the season, Sancho featured in four of United's pre-season matches. Following a missed penalty in the shootout loss to Manchester City, Sancho's next career move saw him transfer to Chelsea on deadline day in August.
When asked about the chances of Sancho making a comeback at United, Ruben Amorim dismissed the speculation during a press conference last month. "I don't know," Amorim responded when probed about Sancho's desire to play for United again. "I'm just focused on my players and my problems. Sancho is not my problem."
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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