It was the call Manchester United didn’t want to come: the one from Chelsea to tell them Jadon Sancho would be coming back.
His return guarantees United a windfall of £5 million, the penalty Chelsea must pay to renege on their agreement to sign Sancho permanently for £25m this summer. It’s not an insignificant amount for a club battling to bring their finances into line, though United would have preferred the full fee and the back of Sancho for good.
Sancho’s return is a nightmare scenario for club bosses who know that while it’s vital the right players arrive this summer, it’s also crucial that the ones unwanted by head coach Ruben Amorim are moved on swiftly and efficiently.
Sancho was the one they thought they didn’t need to worry about, having negotiated a deal that included an obligation for Chelsea to make the transfer permanent as long as they finished higher than 14th in the Premier League. Instead, the 25-year-old has been added to a list of problems for co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and CEO Omar Berrada that also includes Marcus Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho.
Each one presents a different issue to solve.
Sancho — who sources say has no intention of playing for United again — has a year left on his contract with a weekly wage in excess of £300,000 that’s enough to put off almost any club in the world. Negotiations with Chelsea broke down over his unwillingness to take a substantial cut, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Last summer, a permanent move to Borussia Dortmund, where he excelled between 2017 and 2021 and again during a brief loan return in 2024, never materialized because his wage demands were well outside their budget. Sources have told ESPN there is tentative interest from West Ham United, but he would smash their wage structure, which leaves United facing the prospect of having to sanction another loan move while paying a portion of his salary, or come to an agreement to settle the last year of his contract.
United have paid up contracts before — notably with Alexis Sánchez in 2020 at a cost of around £9m — but it would represent a significant hit during a summer that’s all about balancing the books. When Harry Maguire wanted a payoff to join West Ham in 2023, United declined.
Rashford’s wage is also a problem. While Sancho is coming to the end of his contract, Rashford still has another three years to run on a deal that includes a salary of around £350,000 per week. It was enough to put off AC Milan in January after the Italian side informed the England forward’s representatives they could only afford half. Aston Villa eventually agreed on a loan, but only because United reluctantly agreed to cover a portion of his wage.
Given the size of Rashford’s contract (worth more than £50m), coming to a mutual agreement to terminate isn’t an option, while kicking the can down the road with another loan has not been ruled out. Rashford’s ideal scenario, according to sources, is to move to Barcelona, but the Spanish champions are also walking a financial tightrope.
Throw in Antony and Garnacho — both on long contracts but deemed surplus to requirements by Amorim — and United have work to do.
Antony impressed during his loan spell at Real Betis, but United still have no hope of recouping anything close to the £86m they paid Ajax in 2022.
Garnacho, younger and on a lower base salary, is easier to move, and there was interest from Napoli and Chelsea in January. The issue, however, is that United could be backed into a corner over a transfer fee because clubs know that Amorim doesn’t want him and that Garnacho is keen to leave. He was valued at more than £60m by United in January, but offers this summer are likely to start at well below that mark.
1:41
Leboeuf: Sancho career ‘ruined’ if he stays at Man United
Frank Leboeuf is adamant that Jadon Sancho leave Manchester United if he wants to save his career.
Sources have told ESPN that after six months of firefighting since his appointment in November, Amorim is keen for a fresh start this summer. That means having new signings ready and available ahead of the preseason tour of the United States next month.
Matheus Cunha‘s deal has been completed, and work is being done to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford, but it also means United need to have Sancho, Rashford, Antony and Garnacho safely tucked away at other clubs before the team heads to Chicago on July 22. The alternative for Amorim is an uncomfortable summer working with players he doesn’t want.
A year ago, former boss Erik ten Hag was talked into agreeing to an uneasy truce with Sancho after the pair had fallen out nine months earlier. Sancho, banished from the squad for publicly criticizing the Dutchman in a social media post in September 2023, was allowed back ahead of the summer tour. He played a part in the preseason games, but Ten Hag didn’t really want him there, and Sancho didn’t want to be there, either.
The idea was that reintegration would prevent Sancho’s market value slipping even further. Those around Ten Hag felt it only eroded the manager’s authority in the dressing room at a time when his position was already under threat, following a difficult campaign that had only been saved by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
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Marcotti: Man United lost to a bunch of randoms
Gab Marcotti believes that Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim “threw his team under the bus” following their 1-0 defeat to ASEAN All-Stars.
If deals for Sancho, Rashford, Antony and Garnacho cannot be agreed before the tour, Amorim and the club have decisions to make. Either they take them to the U.S. and risk the trip being disrupted by unwelcome distractions. Or they’re all left at home to train at Carrington, significantly reducing United’s bargaining position with interested clubs. Both sides of the coin come with a risk.
United will hope that it doesn’t come to that and it’s all solved in the next six weeks — with permanent transfers secured for Sancho, Rashford, Garnacho and Antony — the money banked and those big wages off the bill. The reality, though, is that it’s likely to be far more complicated.
As Amorim, Ratcliffe and Berrada look to reboot and rebuild after a disastrous season, getting the wrong players out is just as important as getting the right ones in.
