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Sky Sport Germany reporter, Florian Plettenberg, has claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that a swap deal between Jadon Sancho and Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen is “highly unlikely at this stage”.
Sancho was at his scintillating best in Germany, scoring 50 goals in 137 appearances. However, he has always flattered to deceive at United, never managing to nail down a spot or find form beyond a short run of games.
Things went from bad to worse for the winger, as in September he was dropped from United’s squad to face Arsenal for allegedly having a poor attitude in training.
After posting comments on social media in response to Erik ten Hag publicly calling out his efforts, the player has been totally ostracized from the first team despite an ongoing injury crisis.
As a result, this has led to Sancho most likely being moved on, with a range of clubs from Saudi Arabia, Juventus and Barcelona being credited with an interest.
Rumours have persisted, though, that he may opt for a move back to Dortmund.
Meanwhile, Malen’s poor form has led to repeated reports that he is unsettled and wants to move, with United listed as a potential destination. This has inevitably led to talk of a swap deal, with one report even claiming that there was a meeting yesterday between the two clubs to discuss the possibility.
But Plettenberg sees numerous problems standing in the way of an exchange. He ponders “is it financially feasible? Does everyone in the club [Dortmund] support this decision?”
He also claims that “secretly, [Sancho’s] desire is for a restart opportunity at Manchester United.”
Under certain circumstances Jadon #Sancho is very open to return to #BVB in winter!
➡️ However, many questions need to be addressed: Is it financially feasible? Does everyone in the club support this decision?
➡️ At the moment there is no direct contact.Secretly, his desire… pic.twitter.com/5CbmJybtmA
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) December 8, 2023
Plettenberg concludes that “all parties involved consider a potential exchange as unrealistic” but does remind us that Malen shares an agency with Ten Hag, which could facilitate a rapid deal should the move progress.
📍News #Sancho/#Malen: A swap deal is very unlikely at this stage! All parties involved consider a potential exchange as unrealistic.
➡️ And we were told that this is currently not planned by either Dortmund or ManUtd!
ℹ️ As revealed on Monday: Malen wants to leave #BVB in… pic.twitter.com/dsRiTczu1H
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) December 8, 2023
