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It would help Ruben Amorim get rid of a £73m issue
The green shoots of optimism were there for all to see in Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on the opening day of the Premier League season, but it was also clear how much work still needs to be done at Old Trafford both on the field and in the transfer window.
The Red Devils controlled almost four times as many zones of the pitch according to Opta, took more shots than the Gunners at a rate of over two to one and enjoyed 61% possession as Mikel Arteta’s side spent virtually the entire second half on the back foot.
Indeed, the match could be characterised as a tale of two goalkeepers as Altay Bayindir failed to command his penalty area and allowed himself to be bullied into conceding the only goal of the game while back-to-back Golden Glove winner David Raya made seven saves including a truly remarkable stop against Matheus Cunha.
Adam Wharton the missing piece in Man United’s midfield
The noise around Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi’s potential departures from Selhurst Park this summer combined with the incredible number of blockbuster signings made by the Premier League elite this summer has somewhat overshadowed the fact that Wharton entered the summer transfer window as one of the most in-demand players in English football.
But on Sunday at Stamford Bridge, Wharton reminded everyone watching of the danger he can pose, once again displaying his impressive range of passing and he could’ve helped make the difference in the match when he played in Jean-Philippe Mateta for a one-on-one with pinpoint accuracy.
Despite Wharton playing for (with all due respect to top flight a European power) Crystal Palace away at Chelsea, no Manchester United players ended the weekend with a better expected assisted goals tally than Wharton according to Opta via FBRef.com.
Meanwhile he’s well in the top 6% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for that category in the last year and the top 10% for progressive passes, shot-creating actions and ball recoveries.
And to prevent Sir Jim Ratcliffe firing the four remaining members of minimum-wage staff at the club, they could strike a swap-plus-cash by offering a current Red Devil forward in return who could fill the hole apparently soon to be left by the departing Eze. It’s (don’t laugh)... Jadon Sancho.
Forgotten Jadon Sancho can rediscover best form at Crystal Palace
It’s easy to forget now, but there’s a reason that Manchester United were willing to pay £73 million for Sancho in 2021, making him the second-most expensive English player ever behind Harry Maguire at the time.
For all of the talk around Sancho’s attitude, this is also clearly a tactic from Amorim. It’s somewhat hard to fathom why, given the way it’s eroded the sell-on value of some of the Red Devils’ most lucrative players, but Marcus Rashford and Antony’s form away from Old Trafford last season showed a serious divergence from the picture painted by Amorim.
When things go wrong on the pitch, it’s helpful to have a highly-paid scapegoat and Amorim has already lined up his latest piñata in the form of Rasmus Hojlund.
Sancho made 30 and 34 goal contributions (mostly as a teenager) in his first two seasons as an established player at Borussia Dortmund while his cameo back in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2024 helped the Black and Yellows to the Champions League final and led to England fans lambasting Gareth Southgate for not including him in the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 squad.
Sancho’s not the first high-profile player to fail at Chelsea but it’s clear he’s not the all-encompassing problem at Manchester United that he’s been painted out to be and he also seems like a player who thrives as a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
Meanwhile valuations for Wharton vary wildly, from less than £30m to £100m and any of these would represent profit for the Eagles in barely more than 18 months from when they brought the then-teenager to Selhurst Park for £22m.
However, £60m appears closer to Palace’s demands right now with the end of the transfer window approaching, Manchester United are desperate to get Sancho’s salary off their books as the 25-year-old’s £250,000-a-week salary means he’s on course to pocket £13m this season.
So a cut-price deal could be in order, with Sancho earning the Red Devils a discount of £15m (or even as low as £10m) on Wharton’s fee, meaning Crystal Palace would net £45m for the player. Whichever way you slice it, Man United would of course needed to offer a decent chunk of cash alongside Sancho to get the deal through. Do that, and they’d have their midfield sorted for the next decade. Get on the phone, Sir Jim...
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