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After Jadon Sancho was omitted from another of Erik ten Hag’s matchday squads against Brighton and Hove Albion yesterday, the big question now is, how desperate are Manchester United to offload the England star?
Talk of the player-manager relationship having been mended looked genuine in pre-season as Sancho featured heavily in Ten Hag’s lineups and acquitted himself reasonably well playing as a false 9 for much of the tour.
However, he was left out of the squad again yesterday and with some frosty hints from Ten Hag at a press conference, things really don’t seem to have changed at all, leaving an exit as the only viable option.
United do not want another loan for Sancho. First, they need the cash to help stay within PSR limits and second, they do not want to be in a situation next summer that they have only a year to recoup some money for him. His contract expires in June 2026, albeit with a year’s extension option.
There have only been three clubs (seriously) credited with an interest in Sancho this summer, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus. Of the three, the one that has always looked the most likely is Juve.
However, a report from this morning’s paper edition of Gazzetta dello Sport shows just how unappealing and conditional Juventus’ interest is in the 24 year old.
“Contacts continue for Sancho …, an early summer obsession that has come back into fashion in recent days in parallel with the increasingly concrete farewell of Federico Chiesa,” the outlet claims.
“The transfer of the Azzurri winger to Barcelona (or England) can free up financial resources to be allocated to the final race for Sancho, provided that Old Trafford accepts the loan with the right to buy (without obligations) and the payment of part of the rich salary of 8 million net of the former Borussia Dortmund player.”
There are so many problems with this proposal that Ineos will surely be resigned to the fact it is a non-starter.
First, Barcelona reportedly have serious doubts about Chiesa’s injury record and recent form and have enough financial problems without adding another €30 million signing to their ranks.
They are talking about a bid of half that price and with only five days left in the window, there is an awful lot of work to do for that transfer to happen. And if Chiesa stays at Juve, there’s simply no space for Sancho.
But even if Barça sign the Italian international, they are only willing to loan Sancho – the very thing that United don’t want – with no obligation to buy.
And third, they will want United to pay part of Sancho’s salary.
These are the very conditions that Borussia Dortmund offered earlier in the window that were flatly rejected by United.
Ineos’ position has been that they will not deal unless it offers a good financial benefit to them. Whether this has changed since the latest friction between Sancho and Ten Hag remains to be seen, because Juventus’ offer, if it comes at all, will be less than underwhelming.
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2024-08-25 07:58:12
