Manchester United are so desperate to offload Jadon Sancho this summer that they have invited strong rivals Chelsea and Arsenal to make a move, TEAMtalk can confirm – but Manchester City have also been contacted over the prospect of a sensational reunion and with Sir Jim Ratcliffe naming a new lowball price.
The winger has failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford since a huge £73m move from Borussia Dortmund in summer 2021, scoring just 12 times in 82 appearances so far. And after a very public falling out with Erik ten Hag last September, in which he publicly accused the Manchester United boss of lying about his omission from the squad that were beaten at Arsenal, Sancho was subsequently allowed to rejoin Borussia Dortmund on loan early in the January transfer window.
Since moving back to the Westfalenstadion, Sancho has served a timely reminder of exactly why United were so desperate to secure his services. Revelling in the freedom and trust placed in him by Edin Terzic, the winger played a major role in helping the Bundesliga side reach the Champions League final.
Indeed, the 24-year-old’s performance in their semi-final first leg victory over PSG had Rio Ferdinand purring, with the former United star saying of Sancho: “He’s shaking and baking top players here. He’s putting people on the floor, he’s making people dance.”
However, with Dortmund not having the finances to seal Sancho’s return on a permanent basis, the player is due to return to Old Trafford early next month ahead of pre-season training.
But with the club also deciding to stand by Ten Hag as manager, after a long internal review into the Dutchman’s suitability to continue at Old Trafford, a parting of ways with Sancho is now on the cards.
Interestingly, TEAMtalk understands that United’s recently-appointed technical director, Jason Wilcox, had made it clear to Ratcliffe that he believes Sancho should be given a way back at Old Trafford with the player given the chance to prove himself.
However, with Ten Hag staying on and with no truce between the parties, the Red Devils have now signalled their intent to move the winger on.
And United’s minority shareholder Ratcliffe has been in contact with four top clubs in an effort to make them aware of the winger’s availability.
To that end, sources have indicated to TEAMtalk that the teams in question have been told United would like a package worth £40m for the winger. They would ideally like to sell him this summer, but could accept a loan with an obligation to buy for next summer, while could even consider a structured deal that would see the figure achieved by way of a number of plausible bonuses and add-ons.
And we have been told that representatives of United have offfered Sancho to Chelsea, with officials making it clear of the price they would like to fetch.
They are far from the only team being offered a chance at his signing, though, with Barcelona and Arsenal contacted too.
However, the most extraordinary move has seen United offer arch-rivals Manchester City the chance of a reunion with the winger, whom walked out on Pep Guardiola back in summer 2017 for a fee of just £8m.
What are Man City chances of re-signing Jadon Sancho?
At the time, Sancho was vaunted as City’s top prospect and even promised a fast-track route into their first team by wowed City chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak,
However, after it came to light that Sancho was in negotiations with other clubs, he was dropped by Guardiola from their pre-season training squad and was then subsequently sold to BVB, with the player seemingly frustrated by Guardiola’s refusal to offer a guarantee over playing times.
His attitude has since been called into question by strict disciplinarian Ten Hag and while there is no doubting his abilities, it remains highly-debatable whether Guardiola would succumb and bring the player back to the Etihad.
That said, there could be an opening there at City with the Cityzens understood to be open to the sale of £100m man Jack Grealish after he fell down the pecking order.
However, Sancho’s £250,000 a week salary is also seen as problematic for the majority of his suitors too and given there is no guarantee that whoever signs him do not know what they are going to get.
As it stands, none of the four sides contacted are yet to take United up on their offer to sign Sancho and another loan at this stage looks the best they can expect.
That will come as a blow for Ratcliffe, who has been on a mission to rid the club of their highest-earning and underperforming stars since taking sporting control back in February and following his £1.3bn purchase of 27.7% of the Glazers’ shares.
And while £370,000 a week Raphael Varane and £250,000 a week Anthony Martial have already made way, Ratcliffe may have to wait a little longer to move on Sancho next.