Man United winger Jadon Sancho did reject a permanent switch to Roma, according to journalist Andy Mitten.
The Red Devils agreed a £20m fee for the 25-year-old, but speaking on the Talk of the Devils podcast, Mitten revealed that Sancho was not interested in the move:
“I think Sancho was the most difficult deal for the club to do in the transfer window.”
“Roma were prepared to pay around £20 million for Jadon Sancho – Manchester United would have much rather had £20 million than nothing from Aston Villa.”
“Video calls were set up, but for whatever reason, Jadon Sancho just didn’t fancy going to Roma, and I think that frustrated Manchester United greatly.”
Man United have not been able to find a buyer
After Chelsea decided to pay £5m to send him back to his parent club, Sancho has spent the summer as part of the ‘bomb squad’, along with Antony, Tyrell Malacia and Alejandro Garnacho.
Napoli and Juventus were linked with the England international, along with Roma, but no agreement over a permanent sale could be reached, leading to him being loaned out for a second successive year, with Villa reportedly paying a loan fee and 80% of his wages.
Sancho could be back at Old Trafford next summer
Although the player’s contract with the Red Devils does expire at the end of the season, there is an option to extend for another twelve months.
It means that once Sancho’s loan at Villa Park comes to an end, he could still return to Manchester.
United will be reluctant to let him leave on a free transfer, having spent £73m to snap him up in the summer of 2021, but they may consider cutting their losses, as they will no longer have to pay his £250,000 a week salary.
Read more about the Manchester United First Team Squad for 2025/26 here
David Tully
David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World’s Football News Network.
