Jadon Sancho has not played for Manchester United in 18 months but the club has still been left to foot the bill for the winger
Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho will not feature against parent club Man United at the weekend(Image: Michael Zemanek/Shutterstock)
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Jadon Sancho has cost Manchester United an eye-watering sum since his arrival in 2021, despite not featuring for the club in the last 18 months. The English winger inked a five-year deal that included a weekly wage of £250,000 when he transferred from Borussia Dortmund half-a-decade ago.
These financial commitments have seen United pledge a whopping £138million to Sancho, as reported by the Mail, even though he' only made 83 appearances for the club since arriving. Loan stints elsewhere and his wages being covered have meant that United haven't paid all of that astronomical figure directly to Sancho.
The 25-year-old is currently enjoying a loan spell at Aston Villa, with Unai Emery's team covering 80% of his wages and a loan fee. Last season, Chelsea chose not to trigger the £25million obligation-to-buy clause, resulting in a £5m penalty fee paid to United after also covering half of his salary.
Dortmund utilised his services for the remainder of the 2023/24 season, covering most of his wages whilst also paying a loan fee. Although United have received some funds for Sancho, Sir Jim Ratcliffe disclosed last year that £17m was still owed to Dortmund.
Sancho's three loan spells have been a mixed bag, to say the least, with his time at Villa Park arguably epitomising his career in England - showing promise but failing to consistently deliver in front of goal.
From 28 appearances for Villa this season, Sancho has registered just two goal contributions - one assist in the Premier League and a solitary strike in the Europa League.
His domestic statistics will remain unchanged this weekend, however, as he is ineligible to face his parent club with Villa travelling to Old Trafford to take on United on Sunday afternoon.
Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho during his time at Man United(Image: PA)
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Both sides are firmly competing for Champions League qualification next season, though each have encountered recent setbacks.
Last Wednesday evening, Will Osula struck a last-gasp winner for 10-man Newcastle United to halt Michael Carrick's unbeaten run in charge, whilst Villa suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Carrick's side are likely to hold the advantage over Villa heading into the weekend, with Emery and Co. in France for their Europa League last-16 first leg against Lille on Thursday.
No FA Cup involvement, however, means that United will have not featured for over 10 days by the time they host Villa at Old Trafford.
Liverpool, Chelsea and arguably Brentford and Everton are competing for a top-five finish and therefore Champions League football, with the four teams facing varying fixtures this weekend.
Whilst Liverpool welcome Tottenham, their Merseyside rivals Everton travel to Arsenal, whilst Chelsea meet Newcastle at Stamford Bridge and Brentford face bottom-placed Wolves.