Man Utd Make Jadon Sancho Decision With Major Financial Consequences—Report

Jadon Sancho was a superstar in the making when he arrived at Old Trafford in 2021.

A backup role at best since joining Aston Villa on loan. / James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Manchester United appear ready to cut their losses on Jadon Sancho and are tipped to release the winger at the end of this season, five years after making him one of the most expensive English players of all time.

The Red Devils had chased Sancho since 2020, when Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s time in charge coincided with an admirable desire to recruit young, developing talent that could be polished in “the United way”—serious targets including Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham wound up going elsewhere.

An agreeable deal with Borussia Dortmund proved too difficult to negotiate that year, but Sancho eventually arrived at Old Trafford for £73 million ($98.4 million) in 2021. Now, as his original contract nears its expiration, United look set to draw a line under this failed advdenture, despite the financial ramifications.

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Fabrizio Romano has reported that the hierarchy at Old Trafford—a different executive lineup and management setup than when Sancho joined—considers the “chapter closed” and free agency this coming summer will be the endpoint. That, he says, has already been conveyed to Sancho’s camp.

Sancho, who is on loan at Aston Villa but is yet to start a Premier League game this season, has a contract at Old Trafford until June 30, 2026. United have an option to extend the deal by a further 12 months to 2027. But rather than trigger it in the distant hope of reintegration or extracting any sort of transfer fee and recoup a fraction of the initial investment, simultaneously risking being burdened with his heavy salary for another season, the club are expected to say goodbye once and for all.

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Jadon Sancho Saga Filled with Regret

Man Utd fans never saw Jadon Sancho consistently perform. / Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Ultimately, Sancho has spent just two of the last five years in the Manchester United squad.

He suffered an early setback immediately after arriving when an ear infection he picked up on holiday between signing his contract and reporting for preseason left him requiring hospital treatment. Then, Solskjær, the manager who had been so keen to have him, was sacked without having the chance to properly work with his newest star.

From there, an eventual falling out with Erik ten Hag in August 2023 left Sancho banished from the first team, sitting out the first half of 2023–24 and completing that campaign on loan back with Dortmund. He starred en-route to the 2024 Champions League final but was otherwise inconsistent and the club declined to make it a permanent reunion.

After it had looked as though Sancho might be reintegrated at Old Trafford—he appeared for Ten Hag in the narrow 2024 Community Shield defeat to Manchester City—Sancho made his way to Chelsea. His best performances again came in Europe as the Blues won the UEFA Conference League, though he made just 19 Premier League starts. Chelsea opted to pay a £5 million penalty clause to cancel their obligation to buy when Sancho failed to come to an agreement over personal terms.

That put Sancho in limbo all over again, with the summer of 2025 filled with links to various clubs—Dortmund and Roma among them—who eventually passed. Aston Villa took the gamble but the winger’s backup role there has done little to restore his reputation to what it once was.

Chelsea also took a hit on Sancho. / Andrzej Iwanczuk/NurPhoto/Getty Images

It was never supposed to be this way. At the time of his arrival, Sancho was one of the most exciting young players in the world and had racked up incredible numbers for Dortmund from being a teenager—he boasted 109 goals and assists in three full seasons as a first-team player from 2018–19 onwards.

Sancho will turn 26 in March, still young enough to have a long career ahead of him and with the natural talent to make it possible. If he wants it to be, is willing to compromise and prioritises graft over grandeur, this could be the fresh start he desperately needs.

From a United perspective, shedding a salary burden reported to be in the region of £15 million per season—the majority of which is at least currently covered by Aston Villa—is perhaps even worth the stigma of releasing the fourth most expensive player in their history as a free agent.

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