Manchester United have allowed Jadon Sancho to return to Borussia Dortmund on loan after the winger was frozen out of the first team by manager Erik ten Hag.
Sancho has not featured for United since their 3-2 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest on August 26 due to an ongoing disciplinary matter within the club.
Ten Hag has remained steadfast over whether he will bring Sancho back into the first team in 2024. The club hierarchy were expected to bring the impasse to an end during the January transfer window, one way or another, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS begin to take control of United’s sporting operations.
That has now come to fruition, with Sancho returning to his former club until the end of 2023/24. “The England international of 23 caps leaves with our best wishes for the remainder of this season,” United said on January 11.
The prospect of returning to the Bundesliga has appealed to the 23-year-old as he attempts to restart his career and potentially force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for Euro 2024.
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Sancho’s return to Dortmund has been confirmed on January 11, 2024. The winger has signed until the end of the 2023/24 season.
Dortmund will reportedly pay United a €3. 5 million loan, which can go up to €7. 5 million depending on the player’s number of appearances during the rest of the season. There is no purchase option in the transaction.
“When I walked into the locker room today I felt like I was coming home,” he said. “I know the club inside and out, I’ve been very close to the fans here and I’ve never lost touch with them. “. in charge.
“I can’t wait to see my teammates again, faint on the pitch, play football with a smile on my face, create passes, score passes and for the team to qualify for the Champions League. “
Sancho enjoyed a very good spell at Dortmund before joining United with 50 goals in 137 appearances and also won the DFB-Pokal in 2021.
United then paid around €85 million to sign him that year.
If Sancho manages to regain his full strength until the end of the campaign, it will give United a conundrum heading into 2024/25, with Ten Hag’s own future in jeopardy as United fight for a Champions League qualification spot.
Ten Hag is unlikely to change his stance towards Sancho, however, with the former Ajax head coach under serious tension at Old Trafford, there is a possibility that he will no longer be United manager until Sancho returns from his spell. loan in Dortmund.
If Ten Hag stays, Sancho will most likely look to leave the club permanently, but the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe to the club is also a key factor: the British billionaire, who has become a minority shareholder in the club and takes over Football . Operations, I would not be willing to lose money with such an expensive firm.
Sancho’s contract with United runs until 2026, with the option of a further year.
Sancho and Ten Hag fell out in September 2023 after the 23-year-old was omitted from the United squad for their 3-1 Premier League loss at Arsenal, and he has been frozen out of the squad since.
Ten Hag said in his post-match press conference that his decision to drop Sancho was due to the player’s perceived lack of application in training. Sancho responded on social media, accusing Ten Hag of lying and telling enthusiasts “not everything you read. ” and stating that his manager had made him a “scapegoat. “
Ten Hag has made it clear that Sancho will no longer be considered a variety character unless he apologises. Although the player deleted his social media posts and some teammates asked him to apologize to the coach, he did not do so. As a result, Sancho was excluded from first-team activities and trained with the youth team for several weeks.
Ten Hag opted for three loan spells in the January 2023 transfer window when Marcel Sabitzer, Wout Weghorst and Martin Dubravka arrived to cover injuries. Similar deals are likely to be reached this month, given that United will have to pay attention to financial fair play. standards.
The club have reportedly made efforts to tempt Saudi Pro League clubs to bid for Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane and Casemiro, although Ten Hag would prefer to keep the latter two until the end of the season. In either case, it is likely that teams from the lucrative league will limit big-money transfers to the summer window.
Due to considerations over his defence, Ten Hag could make a move to get hold of Nice centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo, as the French side are owned by Ratcliffe’s INEOS group. However, such a deal would almost count on United’s ability to increase the budget through the sale of players.
Goals are also a factor for the Red Devils: with just 22 scored in 20 Premier League games, United were the third-highest scorers at the start of 2024.
It is possible that Brentford will ask for up to £100m for Ivan Toney, and Arsenal and Chelsea are also interested, which would make this deal very difficult. Athletic have claimed that Bundesliga trio Timo Werner, Serhou Guirassy and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting have been added to a list of reasonable targets for United. Since then, Werner has signed a loan deal at Tottenham.