Jadon Sancho has reportedly emerged as a “dream” target for a surprise European side with Manchester United increasingly desperate to sell the wantaway winger.
Bomb Squad
Sancho, 25, has been designated as part of Ruben Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ – a group of five players, including Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Tryell Malacia – who have no future under the Portuguese coach and have been told to find new clubs.
Sancho spent last season on loan at Chelsea with a buy obligation if the west London club placed 15th or higher in the Premier League at the end of the campaign.
The Blues finished fourth, triggering the obligation to convert Sancho’s loan move into a permanent transfer worth £25 million.
However, Stamford Bridge executives could not agree personal terms with Sancho as the winger was unwilling to compromise on his wage packet at Old Trafford, believed to be worth around £250,000 a week.
As a result, Chelsea chose to activate the £5 million penalty fee in the agreement with United which reversed the obligation to buy, essentially converting the deal into a straightforward loan.
Sancho returned to Manchester last month – but there is no desire for the 25-year-old to be reintegrated into the first-team squad by the coaching staff, the player, or the club’s hierarchy.
Sancho is actively searching for a new club with a move to Serie A emerging as the most likely option. Both Juventus and Napoli have explored a deal with the Old Lady believed to be leading the race.
A return to Borussia Dortmund was floated but deemed too expensive given the winger’s wage demands and United’s drive to seal a permanent exit, rather than another loan deal.
A New Contender
Spanish outlet Fichajes now reveals a new contender has emerged for Sancho from Italy – Como – with talks having already taken place between both parties.
The report states Como’s manager, Cesc Fabregas has requested his club to enter the race for Sancho as the Spaniard believes he can help the 25-year-old “regain his best form and make [Sancho] a key player” in his team.
“The former Spanish international dreams of adding Sancho to his squad as his main attacking reinforcement and is doing everything possible to convince him to join his project.
“Sancho, who shone during his time at Borussia Dortmund but hasn’t been able to replicate that performance in England, needs an environment that will restore his confidence and continuity. Cesc Fàbregas is convinced he can regain his best form and make him a key player in a team that aspires to continue growing in Italian football.”
Crucially, the report reveals, “contact between the parties has already begun,” indicating Como are serious in their pursuit of Sancho. And the Serie A club’s owners are the richest in Italy, suggesting they may be able to match the winger’s demands where other teams have not been able to.
From United’s perspective, they will not care where Sancho leaves for; only that he does, in fact, leave. In a long line of transfer failures at Old Trafford in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise, the apathetic Sancho may just be the worst of a bad bunch.
Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
