A call from Chelsea saying Jadon Sancho would return was a call that Manchester United did not want to hear.
Sancho's return brought Man United a surprise fee of £5 million. This is the penalty Chelsea have to pay to abandon Sancho's permanent contract ( £25 million) this summer. This is not a small amount for a club struggling to balance finances like the "Red Devils".
However, Sancho's return is still a nightmare scenario for the club's owners. They understand that it is important to bring the right players this summer. But in addition, the more important thing is to quickly eliminate players who are not trusted by head coach Ruben Amorim.
Sancho is the player that Man United think they do not need to worry about. The two teams have negotiated a deal that would have required Chelsea to make the transfer permanent, as long as the Blues finished 14th in the Premier League.
Instead, the 25-year-old has been added to the list of problems of co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and CEO Omar Berrada, which also includes Marcus Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho.
Sancho has one more year left on his contract with a weekly salary exceeding £300,000, enough to be rejected by almost any club in the world. Talks with Chelsea have broken down because he does not want to cut his salary.
Last summer, a permanent move to Dortmund, where Sancho played brilliantly from 2017 to 2021 and during his short loan spell in 2024, never came true. The reason is that his salary requirements far exceeded Dortmund's budget.
There is also interest from West Ham, but Sancho will disrupt their salary structure, forcing Man United to accept another loan move. The Old Trafford side still have to pay some of Sancho's salary, or reach an agreement to settle the final year of his contract.
Rashford's salary is also a problem. While Sancho is out of contract, Rashford still has 3 more years to make a deal including a salary of about 350,000 pounds a week.
That was enough to earn AC Milan a reject in January this year after the Serie A side informed Rashford's agent that they could only pay for half. Aston Villa eventually agreed to loan, but only because Man United were reluctant to pay part of his salary.
With Rashford's contract size (worth more than £50 million), reaching a common agreement to terminate the contract is not an option. Meanwhile, the "Red Devils" have not ruled out continuing to loan Rashford. Rashford's ideal scenario is to move to Barcelona, but this deal also faces financial barriers.
In addition, there are Antony and Garnacho. Both have long-term contracts but Amorim considers them a surplus. Therefore, Man United will have a lot of work to do.
Antony has impressed during his loan spell at Real Betis, but United still have no hope of recovering the £86 million they paid to Ajax in 2022.
Garnacho is younger, has a lower basic salary and has attracted the attention of Napoli and Chelsea in January this year. However, the problem is that Man United could be caught up in transfer fees because clubs know Garnacho is eager to leave.
The Argentine striker was valued at more than £60 million by the "Red Devils" in January, but the offerings this summer are likely to start at a much lower level.
