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Barcelona have ruled out a January move for unwanted Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho.
As explained here yesterday, the La Liga champions had been linked with a shock swap deal for Sancho, which would have seen Raphinha travel in the opposite direction.
The Brazilian winger has performed well at times since his blockbuster transfer to Barcelona from Leeds eighteen months ago, but has not established himself as an undisputed starter.
Eight goals and eight assists last season represented a reasonable return for a winger but is not quite commensurate with the £55 million outlay Barcelona paid for Raphinha.
It constitutes a bargain in comparison to United’s return on investment with Sancho, however.
The former Borussia Dortmund winger set United back £73 million in the summer of 2021, but has failed to produce performances anywhere close to this level since arriving in Manchester.
A lackadaisical approach, which tilts on lazy, and a lack of application, which borders on unprofessional, saw Sancho fall out publicly with manager, Erik ten Hag, who questioned the winger’s attitude in training following the 3-1 loss to Arsenal in September.
Sancho has neither played for, nor trained with, the first-team squad since this point.
A private and public apology is thought to be the requirement for the winger to return to the fold at Old Trafford, though this ship appears to have sailed a long time ago.
As such, a swap deal for the two wingers may have offered a marriage of convenience for both clubs. A new report by Mundo Deportivo has categorically rejected this possibility, however.
Barcelona are thought to consider Raphinha “untouchable” at present, given their struggles with injuries and the lack of options in the forward line. If the club are able to secure a replacement who “improve[s] the squad” in the summer window, this stance may change, but not in January.
Additionally, officials at Camp Nou are reported to have no interest in Sancho, who is “not part of their plans” in either January or the summer windows. United will have to keep searching elsewhere to find a resolution to the Sancho problem.
