If it feels like this silly season isn’t as silly as it should be…well, that’s because it’s true. We are seeing fewer deals get done than usual, at least up to this point, due to a common problem. You have brand name forwards with big wages and huge potential transfer fees that very few clubs can afford to pay. Jadon Sancho is kind of the poster child for this, and we’ll cover him first, before getting to Raheem Sterling and Christopher Nkunku.
However, this far from a Chelsea thing, and Sancho is once again, technically, a United player.
Throughout the Premier League big six clubs, you have several of these forward flops who, although still talented and sought after, ultimately no one wants to pay what they cost.
In addition to the triad of players we’ll cover here, Darwin Nunez, Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho all fall into this category.
Jadon Sancho
Chelsea would have followed through on their obligation to buy him from United, but ultimately decided NOT to sign Sancho. Why did the southwest London club opt to pay a penalty fee to make the English footballer go away? Because the wayward winger wasn’t willing to drop his £300,000-a-week wages.
It’s this exact issue that’s keeping him from finding a new club now. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Juventus and Napoli are interested, but not willing to pay what Sancho is demanding.
🚨 JUST IN: Juventus and Napoli can NOT reach an agreement on Sancho’s wages. Both clubs have no problem paying £25M to Man United but wages are a problem.
United want a full sale, but interested clubs want a loan so part of his salary is covered. #MUFC [@FabrizioRomano] pic.twitter.com/aD1N4cOQzk
Raheem Sterling
When no one wants to pay you what you’re demanding, it should serve as a chance for that individual player to do some reflection about where his career is, and quite possibly, the precarious direction that it could be going in. Sterling absolutely flopped during his loan stint at Arsenal, a situation in which he was a squad player, at best.
So there is no place for him at either of the two London giants. On the other side of 30, now might be the time to look at the Saudi Pro League or Major League Soccer.
However, he’s disinterested in Saudi Arabia, and a switch across the pond to MLS would require a pay cut. Like Sancho, he makes £300,000-a-week. Not to mention his contract runs for another two years. The only real interest right now, is coming from Besiktas in the Turkish Super Lig.
According to various outlets, they are keen, at a time when no one else seems to be.
Christopher Nkunku
Damn that terrible turf at Soldier Field, in Chicago, IL, USA. That brutal playing surface has ruined many a career, and maybe Nkunku will sadly go down as yet another player to have suffered that fate. Nkunku suffered a serious knee injury against Borussia Dortmund, in a friendly there on August 2, 2023. This was the same summer that he completed a £52 million move from RB Leipzig.
Since then he has struggled with injuries here and there, and failed to find form when fit. His injury-plagued and unproductive Chelsea spell should be nearing an end, or at least it would, if they could find a legitimate buyer.
He has been linked heavily to United, but the only way that is even moderately realistic is if it involves Garnacho going the other way.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter
