Manchester United are facing the ultimate embarrassment after wasting £138m on one player this summer. United face Aston Villa this Sunday and Jadon Sancho will be watching from the stands or home as his team-mates face their parent club in the Premier League. Sancho has been on loan at Villa Park from United, but he has started just seven league games and had a similarly tough spell last season on loan at Chelsea.
United spent £73m on Sancho in 2021 and he arrived as one of Europe’s most exciting forwards. The England international played 134 games for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga, scoring 48 goals and providing 62 assists. However, he never tried to recreate that kind of productivity back in his home country. And thanks to a five-year deal worth £250,000-a-week, United will have spent £138m on the player before his contract expires in the summer.
United made some money back here and there thanks to loan fees paid by Dortmund, Chelsea and Villa, but each club also paid a different part of his salary. However, since signing Sancho, he has made more appearances for the loan club than for the Red Devils.
And he also contributed to a number of goals away from Old Trafford. Sancho leaves United with 12 goals and six assists in 83 appearances. During his time away from the club, he recorded nine goals and 14 assists in 90 games. The Daily Mail reports that his unsuccessful career at United cost the Premier League giants £138m.
But the big shame is that United won’t be able to recoup any money on the winger, who will only be 26 at the end of the season. That’s because his contract expires in July and INEOS won’t extend it in order to sell him for a transfer fee.
Instead, United are prepared to part ways with him next season to avoid paying even part of his wages. They believe it is unlikely to find a permanent buyer this summer.
It is unclear where Sancho will go next, but there is no doubt that a third return to Dortmund would be attractive for the Englishman. His unsuccessful experiences at Chelsea and Villa suggest that few Premier League clubs will pitch to a free agent attacker.
However, with Dortmund set to lose Julian Brandt on a free transfer this summer, the Germans may well be beckoning for Sancho again. Speaking recently, the winger declared that he is happy at Villa. “When you have a manager who believes in you, you have more confidence going into training and of course on match days,” Sancho said. “So I’m really happy to be playing and I hope I can help the team throughout the season.”
Another English forward expected to leave United this summer is Marcus Rashford. The World Cup hopeful is on loan at Barcelona and has appeared as a back-up option in recent months, scoring 10 goals and providing 13 assists in 38 games.
Rashford wants to stay at Barça, but the Catalan club want to reduce the around £26m transfer fee they would have to pay the Red Devils for him. If United do not agree to a lower fee, Barça could look elsewhere.
