Manchester United reportedly decide to entertain offers of £65m for winger Jadon Sancho.
When he returned to Manchester in 2021, having previously been with Manchester City, there were high hopes that Sancho would only build on the form that he showed regularly at Borussia Dortmund.
However, while there have been glimpses, the 23-year-old has only contributed 12 goals and six assists from his 82 appearances in all competitions.
Furthermore, the England international is now at loggerheads with head coach Erik ten Hag, who opted to publicly criticise Sancho for his training level after dropping him for the Premier League fixture at Arsenal earlier this month.
Sancho went on the offensive in response, claiming that he had been made to be a "scapegoat" in a social media post that has since been deleted.
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Talks between the pair have allegedly not led to a positive resolution being reached and there now appears to be an inevitably about the player departing Old Trafford in January.
If reports are to be believed, United would have been happy to facilitate an exit before then had their demands been met in the days after the frosty exchange between the pair.
According to The Athletic, though, Sancho had no interest in making the switch to the Saudi Pro League.
Any attempt at discussions with Sancho and his representatives are said to have been dismissed out of hand, although it is unclear whether United would have accepted a bid.
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Officials at the Theatre of Dreams were allegedly ready to demand a fee of £65m, despite Sancho coming nowhere near to justifying the £73m that was shelled out just over two years ago.
Sancho would have also become one of the most expensive players in Saudi Pro League history had any club chosen to meet that figure or if he had expressed an openness to the switch to the Middle East.
As it stands, Sancho possesses a contract until 2026 with United able to extend his stay by a further 12 months, theoretically giving them more time to attract a suitable offer.
That said, at a time when United are not in the strongest position with FFP, they will not want the situation to be prolonged in order to generate much-needed transfer funds.
Darren Plant
