Manchester United’s efforts to offload outcast Jadon Sancho have reportedly taken a blow after a Premier League rival opted out of signing him.
After leaving Manchester City’s academy for Borussia Dortmund in 2017, the winger rose to prominence at the Bundesliga side.
Sancho made his Dortmund debut aged 17 but it wasn’t until the following season in 2018/19 that he properly made his mark.
The former Watford academy player scored 13 goals and bagged 20 assists that season, improved on that the following campaign with 20 goals and 20 assists, before rounding off his time at BVB with a further 16 goals and 20 assists in 2020/21.
That was enough for Man Utd to come calling, with the England international joining for £73m in the summer of 2021 on a five-year deal.
Since then, however, things have not gone to plan for Sancho at Old Trafford. He has scored just 12 goals and registered a meagre six assists in 82 appearances – a far cry from the numbers he was chalking up at Dortmund.
To make matters worse, he hasn’t played for United for nearly a year after falling out with manager Erik ten Hag.
The former Ajax boss left the winger out of United’s matchday squad to face Arsenal last August, with the Dutchman saying he wasn’t selected due to his subpar training.
After the match, Ten Hag said on Sancho’s omission: “On his performance on training we didn’t select him. You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United. You can make choices in the front line, so in this game, he wasn’t selected.”
Sancho, who made three appearances this season for the Red Devils, appeared to be incensed by this move, and took to social media to share his side of the story.
He wrote on Instagram: “Please don’t believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”
After being forced to train with United’s youth teams, Sancho eventually joined old club Dortmund on loan for the second half of the season in January – although not before the Red Devils offered him to Saudi Pro League sides that month.
The 24-year-old, whose contract at United runs until 2026, managed to recapture some of his former swagger at BVB, playing an important role in leading them to the Champions League final – a game they ultimately lost 2-0 to Real Madrid at Wembley.
United are trying all sorts of ways to sell Sancho, who is unlikely to play again for the Premier League side while Ten Hag is in the dugout.
Dortmund are understood to be keen on bringing Sancho back on loan next season but United want a permanent transfer in the coming weeks and months.
The Bundesliga team, however, are unlikely to get anywhere near that £40m asking price, meaning Sancho could be in limbo this summer.
