Jadon Sancho's Chelsea Future Hangs in the Balance as £5m Return Clause Emerges
When Jadon Sancho joined Chelsea on loan from Manchester United last August, it appeared to be the perfect solution for all parties involved. United seemed eager to cut ties with the £73m signing from Borussia Dortmund, while Sancho, who supported Chelsea as a boy, viewed the move as a homecoming of sorts. For Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, Sancho represented another valuable attacking option in his revamped squad.
However, what started with promise has evolved into uncertainty. Chelsea may now be contemplating whether to pay a £5m compensation sum to avoid signing the winger permanently, raising questions about Sancho's future once again as he celebrates his 25th birthday today.
Manchester United made it clear when announcing the loan that Chelsea would be obligated to sign Sancho permanently if they finished at least 14th in the Premier League. No loan fee was paid, and Chelsea covered only half of Sancho's wages—a detail revealed by United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in an interview with BBC Sport on March 10.
Sancho's early performances at Chelsea were promising. He created a late winner on his Premier League debut against Bournemouth on September 14 and provided assists in his next two matches. By December, after scoring in consecutive victories against Southampton and Tottenham, Sancho had contributed to five goals in nine league games as Chelsea climbed to second place, just four points behind Liverpool.
"In training recently I've been working on my shooting a bit more, on hitting the far corner," Sancho said after his impressive strike against Tottenham. "The staff and players have been telling me to be a bit more selfish in front of goal. I know I have a lot of people to prove wrong and I'm working hard every day in training."
But since that high point, Sancho's form has declined dramatically. In his last 18 appearances across all competitions, he has failed to score and has registered just one assist—setting up Cole Palmer in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on January 4. During this period, he has taken only 13 shots, with just two on target.
Sancho acknowledged his struggles after Chelsea's victory over Leicester on March 9: "I know I can do better especially in front of goal. It is kind of annoying not to score but it will come."
Chelsea insiders emphasize that Sancho's attitude behind the scenes has been positive. They report that he has participated in extra training sessions to improve his physical condition and feels it's unfair to evaluate his contributions solely on goals and assists, citing his increased defensive work.
Nevertheless, Chelsea's form has also dipped since their victory at Tottenham. They've collected just 18 points from 14 league games, with their situation salvaged only by home wins against struggling Southampton and Leicester in late February and early March. What once looked like a title challenge has deteriorated into a battle for Champions League qualification.
BBC Sport has previously reported that Chelsea were looking to sign both a striker and a winger, specifically targeting right-footed left wingers in January, including Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho and Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Gittens. These players are younger and considered more direct and faster options than Sancho. Chelsea's attacking issues were exacerbated when striker Nicolas Jackson suffered a hamstring injury against West Ham on February 3, with Sancho completing 90 minutes just once in eight games since then.
If Chelsea decide against making Sancho's move permanent, Manchester United will face yet another difficult situation. Sancho's problems at Old Trafford stemmed from his relationship with former manager Erik ten Hag. Their conflict began when Sancho refused to apologize after Ten Hag criticized his training performances, which the Dutchman cited as the reason for leaving him out of the squad for a match against Arsenal in September 2023.
This wasn't their first clash. In October 2022, Ten Hag had placed Sancho on a personal training program for three months after noticing a performance decline following his omission from an England squad.
Former United forwards coach Benni McCarthy provided insight into the standoff last May: "If you're from the streets, no one wants to apologise. By doing that, you admit you are not training well, you are lazy, everything you are accused of. Jadon wasn't going to have that. The manager has a strong character and just said all he wants is an apology. Jadon thought he had done nothing wrong."
Sancho has never trained under Ten Hag's replacement, Ruben Amorim, who has remained neutral on the subject. When asked about Sancho last month, Amorim responded: "I'm just focused on my players and my problems. Sancho is not my problem. We need to win games and then we will see next season."
The question arose after Sancho commented "freedom" on Marcus Rashford's Instagram post following the striker's loan move to Aston Villa—a remark unlikely to endear him to Manchester United's hierarchy.
United's senior leadership appears to have a negative view of Sancho. Ratcliffe mentioned in his BBC Sport interview that the club is "paying £17m to buy him in the summer," referring to the outstanding fee still owed to Borussia Dortmund from the 2021 transfer.
With Sancho's contract set to expire at the end of next season, United face difficult decisions: attempt an immediate summer sale, trigger the additional year option on his contract (which currently runs until 2026), or risk losing him as a free agent.
Ratcliffe characterized several United players as "overpaid and not good enough" earlier this month—an assessment few would dispute. However, the challenge lies in offloading these players without incurring further financial losses.
Manchester United believed Sancho's move to Chelsea had solved their problem. They may have been mistaken.
