Transfer Centre

Saudi clubs 'leading race for Manchester United's Jadon Sancho'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 27 October 2023

Saudi clubs 'leading race for Jadon Sancho'

Saudi Pro League clubs are reportedly leading the chase for Manchester United's Jadon Sancho, who is also on the radar of Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.

Clubs in Saudi Arabia are reportedly leading the race to sign Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho during the January transfer window.

The former Borussia Dortmund man has been cast aside at Old Trafford since publicly calling out Erik ten Hag over his omission from September's defeat to Arsenal.

Ten Hag stated that he dropped Sancho from the squad due to lacklustre displays from the winger in training, but Sancho alleged that he was a "scapegoat" on a post on his X profile and denied the manager's version of events.

Having refused to apologise to his head coach - who is also refusing to budge from his position - Sancho has been left out of the Man United squad for each of their last 10 games in all competitions and is not allowed to use the first-team facilities at Carrington.

Even if Sancho does swallow his pride and apologise to Ten Hag, any demonstration of remorse is unlikely to lead to a revival of his Manchester United career, which reports claim is "90%" dead in the water.

Manchester United attacker Jadon Sancho on July 22, 2023 © Reuters

Sancho's deal with the Red Devils still runs until the summer of 2027 with the option of a further year, but all parties are now seeking to engineer the Englishman's exit from Manchester in 2024, in spite of rumours that some club staff disagree with Ten Hag's position.

A return to former club Borussia Dortmund has unsurprisingly been touted, while Italian giants Juventus are also thought to be interested in a mid-season loan deal for the 23-year-old.

However, talkSPORT claims that Saudi Arabia is Sancho's best bet given his extortionate £250,000-a-week pay packet, which neither Dortmund nor Juve would be prepared to cover in full.

Either European giant could still strike a deal for Sancho if Man United agree to fork out a portion of his wages, but should the Red Devils refuse, the 23-year-old's options will be severely limited.

A late transfer to Saudi Arabia was briefly on the cards during the last knockings of the 2023 summer window, as Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq attempted to lure the former Manchester City product away from Old Trafford.

Manchester United attacker Jadon Sancho on July 30, 2023 © Reuters

However, the Saudi Pro League outfit - who signed Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Demarai Gray for the 2023-24 season - could not agree terms over an option to buy, and a deal quickly collapsed.

Nevertheless, the four teams backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund - Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad - could flex their financial muscles in an attempt to end Sancho's forgettable tenure at Old Trafford.

The 23-year-old's displays at Dortmund made him one of the most in-demand attackers on the market a couple of years ago, and Man United won the heated battle to bring him back to England in a £73m transaction.

However, Sancho has flattered to deceive in the famous red jersey with a mere 12 goals and six assists from 82 appearances in all tournaments, while he also took a few months out to combat mental and physical issues last season.

Sancho was nowhere to be seen in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League win over Copenhagen and is expected to be absent once again when Man United return to Premier League action at home to bitter rivals Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.