Manchester United is starting to view Jadon Sancho as a “nightmare,” as their attempts to trade the expelled £73 million winger in January are failing.
Next month, Erik ten Hag would voluntarily let go of Sancho, showing no indications of a reconciliation.
After being benched for September’s trip to Arsenal, Sancho, 23, effectively accused Ten Hag of lying in a social media post. Since then, he has been training and dining with United’s academy players.
Donyell Malen may be heading the other way in his rumoured return to former team Borussia Dortmund, but The Sun claims the Germans aren’t thrilled about the idea.
RB Leipzig, a fellow Bundesliga team, has also shown interest in Sancho, but they have been turned off by his rumoured £350,000 weekly salary.
Further restricting options, United does not want a player who has underperformed to go on loan to another Premier League team.
“The situation with Sancho is turning into a nightmare,” the source told The Sun. The player, club, and management are eager for a deal to close in January.
They have been putting in a lot of effort to try and get something going. All parties stand to gain from a loan move, but no one has made a solid offer as of yet.
“Dortmund was interested, but they are delaying because of the worry that Sancho won’t be ready to go right away.”
Furthermore, his pay is deterring other parties as well, like RB Leipzig. While nothing is on the table right now, it’s still possible that a club in Spain or Italy will make an offer for him.
The situation is “growing increasingly untenable,” they continue, and new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who will take over football operations upon ratification of his £1.25 billion buy-out, wants it resolved.
Sancho, whose contract with United expires in 2026, started this season’s first three Premier League games off the bench.
However, Ten Hag was left out of the squad for the 3-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium on September 3 after it was revealed that he had not performed up to par in training.
In a matter of minutes, Sancho took to social media to declare, “I have conducted myself very well in training this week, and I will not allow people to say things that are completely untrue.”
“I have been a scapegoat for a long time, which isn’t fair,” he continued.
United declared on September 14 that Sancho would train apart from the first team.
With a difficult trip to Liverpool this Sunday, Ten Hag is under pressure after United’s shocking exit from the Champions League and all of European football this week.
