Jadon Sancho’s loan move is nearing completion as he seeks playing time after being exiled from Manchester United’s first team, his relationship with manager Erik ten Hag seemingly beyond repair.
The idea of the 2023/24 campaign was one where Sancho could excel under Ten Hag, but that hope expired just 3 Premier League games in the new season when he was left out of the squad that left for Arsenal in September.
Asked to explain Sancho’s absence, Ten Hag said the 23-year-old’s training performances were not to the standard he expected. Following that post-match comment from his manager, Sancho took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to post a statement saying that those words were untrue.
United later said in a statement: “Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training programme away from the first-team group, pending resolution of a squad discipline issue.”
He has yet to return to the first team and has since played a single minute of action, forcing him and the club to look for standout characteristics for his career. Former Borussia Dortmund club came here to call us.
MORE: Man United January 2024 window news
With the January window open, Sancho can escape the chains imposed on him at Old Trafford.
The Bundesliga is on its winter break lately and there has been no action since December 19. However, Dortmund are holding a mini pre-season in Marbella before the league returns.
As part of their training, BVB will face SV Darmstadt on January 13 in what could be Sancho’s first game for the German side, with a deal close to being finalised.
The latest update on the deal has come from transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, who says the player is “waiting for the green light”.
?⚫️ Jadon Sancho’s holiday to Marbella to sign up for the BVB camp is being planned, and the final main points will be discussed with Man United. We are in the final stages of negotiations, but the payment will be around four million euros between the loan and the salary coverage. Sancho, waiting for the soft green to ✈️ pic. twitter. com/cKngkGk6ifour
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was in the price when Sancho signed from Borussia Dortmund for £73m ($92. 8m) in June 2021, having actively sought the England international’s signature for more than 18 months.
Sancho joined the same transfer window as Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane. Solskjaer was sacked 3 months later and Sancho controlled only 8 goals in his first season.
In October 2022, Sancho missed United’s matches for around 3 months.
He has been given a time-out from the club due to “physical and mental” problems, according to Ten Hag. Sancho was then sent to Holland to train on his own with coaches appointed through the United manager.
Ten Hag reintegrated him into the side in February 2023 and Sancho scored against Leeds United in his first game back in the Premier League. The forward was included in almost every squad for the rest of the season but was primarily a substitute. His 2022/23 campaign saw him score seven goals across his 41 appearances.
Fast forward to the 2023 pre-season excursion and it looked like United might have the player they thought they had signed from Dortmund after all.
Sancho looked sharp and it even appeared as though he may have had a new role in the starting XI when he scored a superb goal against Arsenal in New York.
Thank you New York! ?? pic. twitter. com/OAxDXpy5s3
Then came the Arsenal game in September that derailed his season and thwarted any progress he and United fans had hoped to make.
Although his long-awaited move to Dortmund is a six-month loan, his United career may be over. That turns out to be a credible prospect as long as Ten Hag remains in charge.