Jadon Sancho of Manchester United dribbles in the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, August 26, 2023. /CFP
Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund have reached an agreement "in principle" over moving the 23-year-old English winger from Old Trafford to Westfalenstadion on loan, ESPN reported on Friday.
The deal, which hasn't been officially signed, is a six-month-long loan proposed by Dortmund who will pay a small fee and a part of Sancho's 350,000-pound (about $445,375) weekly salary.
It cost United as much as 85 million euros (about $93.1 million) to acquire Sancho from Dortmund in July 2021. He has scored 12 goals and six assists in 82 games for the "Red Devils" since then. Injury was part of the reason behind his underperformance, but his fallout with the current manager Erik ten Hag cost Sancho his position in the first team and access to the club's facility.
Sancho was dropped from United's lineup for the 3-1 loss to Arsenal on September 3, 2023. Ten Hag said the decision was based on the player's "performance on training," but Sancho publicly responded that the manager didn't tell the truth.
Jadon Sancho of Manchester United passes in the Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, August 26, 2023. /CFP
The conflict with the manager led to Sancho's situation today, but it was also more than that because when United landed him, the two sides' expectations mismatched. One of the major reasons Sancho got 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 appearances for Dortmund was that the German club allowed him to play in the way he likes. He could dribble a lot outside of the box and left the finishing duty for Erling Haaland.
United apparently wanted Sancho to play a different role. The club needed him to attack in a more concise way. They wanted him to become a more efficient scorer in the box and share the playmaking duties with Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and others instead of dribbling too much. Furthermore, no matter who was manager – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer or Ten Hag – they wanted every player to get involved in defense, but Sancho was not much of a defender even when he was in Dortmund.
Sending Sancho away can be United's first step of getting rid of him and his expensive contract. Transfermarkt.com values him at 25 million euros (about $27.4 million), which won't be easy to sell to any club.