Sancho's fall from grace - £73m fee to Chelsea paying not to sign him News

Navigation: Home / News / Euro Soccer Update / Sancho's fall from grace - £73m fee to Chelsea paying not to sign him

Sancho's fall from grace - £73m fee to Chelsea paying not to sign him

By Daily Sports Nigeria on June 4, 2025

In the summer of 2020, Jadon Sancho had his pick of Europe's top clubs.

The England winger had not long turned 20 and, after registering 17 goals and 16 assists for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, he was considered one of the game's most exciting young talents.

He chose Manchester United but they had to wait until the following year to complete the deal after wrongly taking Dortmund's deadline to complete a deal as a negotiating tactic.

Eventually, though, United got their man for a fee of £73m in July 2021 with Sancho calling it "a dream come true" and there was an expectation that the former Manchester City academy player would take the Premier League by storm.

Four years and two loan spells later, Sancho's career is at a crossroads with Chelsea willing to pay United £5m not to sign him permanently.

That Sancho's United career did not get off to the best of starts was not helped by the side's struggles under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian was sacked in November 2021 and, as things failed to improve under interim boss Ralf Ragnick, Sancho ended his first season with just five goals and three assists in all competitions.

Erik ten Hag was appointed in the summer of 2022 and while the hope was that things would get better for the Old Trafford club and Sancho, there was a recurring issue that did not help the player endear himself to the new boss.

Sancho's timekeeping had been a problem during his time in Germany but his performances on the pitch meant Dortmund were more willing to allow a little leeway.

The same was not true with England and, despite an excellent first pre-season under Ten Hag, neither was it at United once Sancho's form nosedived in the autumn, after it became obvious he would miss out on selection for the World Cup in Qatar.

The problem of lateness is one that had caused Sancho issues for a number of years and he - along with team-mate Phil Foden - was dropped from an England Under-19 match against Latvia as a disciplinary measure having been late for training.

Source BBC Sports

Posted June 4, 2025