Jadon Sancho could return to Manchester United next week with the player yet to agree terms with Chelsea following his loan spell in London.
The Englishman spent all of last season on loan with the Blues after falling out with then-United boss Erik ten Hag.
The deal which took him to Stamford Bridge included a £20m obligation to buy, plus around £5m in performance-related add-ons.
But the 25-year-old did not tear up trees under Enzo Maresca, and his patchy form has long given his temporary employers second thoughts over following through with the contractual obligation.
Should they decide against it, they must pay United £5m and Sancho will return to Old Trafford – something neither player nor club is likely to be relish.
Rumours that Chelsea might take this way out and get rid of the underwhelming winger have been swirling for months, and Fabrizio Romano has today issued an update.
The reliable journalist reports that “Chelsea remain in contact with Jadon Sancho’s camp over contract terms, still no agreement on salary so far.”
The player is one of United’s top earners, typifying everything wrong with the wage structure at the club, and will be reluctant to step down from his reported £350,000-a-week deal.
Romano notes that a final decision is expected soon with the “outcome expected next week”, and it seems that a humiliating return to Old Trafford is very much still on the cards for Sancho.
While the winger has never worked with current boss Ruben Amorim, it is almost impossible to imagine a scenario where he works his way into the Portuguese’s plans.
Sancho has effectively burned his bridges with the Red Devils, with reports in March claiming the United players are not in favour of working with the Englishman again.
Should United be landed with him again it’s not clear how they would engineer his exit given those huge wages, although there are reports of interest from Serie A as well as Turkish giants Galatasaray.
Bayer Leverkusen were also thought to be keen, although with the appointment of Ten Hag as their new manager that door has likely slammed very firmly shut.
Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
