Jadon Sancho will not be leaving Manchester United to join Chelsea, although Erik ten Hag may allow the former Borussia Dortmund winger to depart on loan during the January transfer window.
That is according to TEAMtalk journalist Graeme Bailey, who claims that the Red Devils will not allow Sancho to leave the club permanently under any circumstances.
The United trickster struggled for form in the run up to the World Cup and has been declared as not yet ready to join up with his teammates in the first team.
Sancho caused a stir by removing his social media posts recently and was also seen training with an amateur Dutch side in a bid to get himself back to peak fitness.
He is understood to have been put on a bespoke training programme to bring him back to his best and it is thought that the 22-year-old is also undergoing struggles in his personal life.
Sancho is yet to reach the dizzying heights of his sensational form at Dortmund in a United shirt having made the £73m switch last season.
He has indeed had good moments, and many are quick to forget that Sancho actually started the season in good form, enjoying a strong preseason before scoring at a good rate early in the campaign – his goal against Liverpool at Old Trafford a particular highlight.
However it is clear that Ten Hag wants to help Sancho get back to his absolute best, hence the player’s time away from United’s training camp in Spain.
Whether that could lead to a loan move is unclear, however.
Erik ten Hag may well prefer to try and fix Sancho’s problems in house in order to have him back in the team as soon as possible. United are light on attacking options as it is and cannot really see a transfer of Sancho – even a temporary one – as beneficial to their squad.
But if it becomes evident that the winger needs half a season away from the intense scrutiny that is ever-present at Man United, a loan to the Bundesliga would not be an absurd suggestion.
Germany is perhaps where Sancho is held in the highest regard, and it could prove to be a shrewd move if it gets the player’s confidence back.
But with all things considered, letting such a move happen would surely only be a matter of last resort.
