Sancho’s underwhelming spell at Old Trafford could come to an end before the summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Friday night.
Much was expected of the winger when he completed a £73m move from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 but Sancho has underwhelmed for the Premier League giants.
After four impressive seasons at Dortmund – in which he established himself as one of the brightest talents in the Bundesliga and a regular England international – Sancho was tipped to thrive at Old Trafford and help the Manchester club win trophies.
But he struggled in his first two seasons at United – scoring 12 goals in 79 appearances – before spending the second-half of the 2023-24 campaign back at Dortmund on loan.
Sancho enjoyed an upturn in form at his old stomping ground and helped Borussia Dortmund reach the Champions League final, but it has been a familiar story of disappointment since returning to Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag reintegrated Sancho back into his first-team squad in pre-season after the pair fell out last year but then left the player out of Manchester United’s first two games of the season.
Ten Hag claimed Sancho was not ‘100% percent fit’ for the Premier League opener against Fulham but reports claim the winger disagreed and asked to leave after being omitted from the squad.
Sancho was then bizarrely taken to Brighton’s Amex Stadium on Saturday only to be left out of the squad altogether, with Ten Hag offering a vague explanation for the decision.
Both parties are now believed to be keen to reach an agreement over a late summer move, with Chelsea holding genuine interest in Sancho despite another extraordinary summer of acquisitions.
Chelsea are even said to be interested in a sensational swap deal with Manchester United that would see Sancho arrive at Stamford Bridge and Blues outcast Raheem Sterling head to Old Trafford.
Sterling is weighing up his options after being banished from first-team training by new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca and told to leave if he wants regular football this season.
But while United are keen to get Sancho off their books before the summer transfer window closes, they will drive a hard bargain over his fee and are wary of being lowballed, according to BBC Sport.
Sancho is expected to be the subject of speculation right up until deadline day, with Serie A giants Juventus also interested in securing his signature if the right deal is available.
Explaining why Sancho failed to make Manchester United’s squad for Saturday’s clash against Brighton, Ten Hag said: ‘He’s here [at the stadium], but I had a choice to make.
‘We had some issues, we need a full squad. He’s one of them. He has to compete in his position.
‘Game-by-game we will have a look. We need two players in every position because it is a long season.’
Sancho has scored 12 goals in 83 appearances for United and his underwhelming spell in Manchester should spark alarm bells at Chelsea, according to Paul Merson.
‘There’s talk of Chelsea wanting to sign Jadon Sancho,’ the ex-Arsenal and England winger told Sportskeeda.
‘But honestly, I don’t see that happening. Chelsea don’t need another winger, what they need is a goalkeeper and a centre-forward.’
