Jadon Sancho, 23, is on the verge of leaving Manchester United.
“Borussia Dortmund will pay Sancho only 40 percent of his £250,000-a-week wages,” the British publication Football Insider reported on Friday. United will subsidize £150,000 of that.”
The outlet added: “Sancho has already left for Dortmund’s training camp to return to his parent club. He will be reunited with Dortmund in Marbella next week. Sancho is looking forward to getting his career back on track.”
An agreement between Dortmund and Manchester United appears to have been finalized. It reportedly includes an option for a full transfer. “Dortmund can trigger a buyout clause worth around £26 million at the end of Sancho’s six-month loan,” Football Insider reports, adding, “While Sancho is on loan, Dortmund will pay him a weekly wage of £100,000. United will cover the rest.”
It’s unclear how quickly he’ll return to match fitness. Sancho hasn’t played an official game in a while after a falling out with United manager Eric ten Hagh, 53. His last appearance was against Nottingham Forest in August. The club even banned him from the first-team training ground and cafeteria. According to local reports, Sancho was only training in private and looking for a new club.
Once a United favorite Sancho left Dortmund for United in the summer of 2021 for £73 million. It was a huge transfer fee for a winger who conquered the German Bundesliga at a young age. Born in Manchester, England, Sancho made a sensational return to his hometown.
However, Sancho has consistently performed below expectations. Even under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he struggled to find his feet. The same was true under interim coach Ralph Rangnick. Ten Haag even took time off during the season to rehabilitate him. However, Sancho ended up being one of United’s worst signings, with just 12 goals and six assists in 82 games.
According to Football Insider, Lord Ratcliffe, who recently acquired a 25 percent stake in United, will add to his £30 million budget in the winter transfer window.
Sancho’s protest has not been met with support from United players. In the past, British outlet The Sun reported, “United players want Sancho to apologize to Van Gaal. They want the squad feud to end as soon as possible.”
Even teammates have reportedly taken it upon themselves to try and persuade Sancho. Striker Marcus Rashford (26) and defenders Harry Maguire (31) and Luke Shaw (28) personally asked him to end the conflict with Van Gaal.
However, Sancho never apologized to Van Gaal. Instead, the rift only deepened. United went so far as to ban Sancho from all first-team facilities. Sancho suffered the humiliation of dining with the United academy squad. Even for a senior member of the team, the club was relentless in its discipline.
There was a clear path forward. All Sancho had to do was apologize to Van Gaal. But Sancho’s pride got the better of him. “According to multiple sources, there is no way Sancho will return to United unless he changes his attitude,” the local media reported. Sancho has been late for training on numerous occasions. That’s why Van Gaal doesn’t look favorably on him.”
The feud between Ten Haag and Sancho began with Sancho’s personal social media comments. In August last year, Sancho said on social media, “I am a scapegoat. I trained well. There must be a reason why I was left out of the squad against Arsenal. It’s not fair,” and dropped a bombshell.
In fact, in his pre-match interview with Arsenal, Van Gaal cited poor training performance as the reason for Sancho’s exclusion. Sancho took to social media to criticize the manager’s comments. Van Gaal believed that Sancho had broken United’s team discipline.
This led to his departure from the club. Before the winter transfer window even opened, he was being linked with a move to Dortmund. In the end, the family came to the rescue. After being out of action for over four months, Sancho is looking to make a comeback in Dortmund.
The first half of the German Bundesliga is over. Dortmund will play a friendly against AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) on the 6th. On the 9th, they’ll host Stendard Liege (Belgium) in a second evaluation game. The second half of the season begins on Sept. 14 against Darmstadt.
