Tuesday brings news that Jadon Sancho will soon technically be a Manchester United player once again. The loan deal at Chelsea FC has apparently not worked out for either side, and Stamford Bridge has no interest in making his loan deal into a permanent arrangement. ESPN reports that Chelsea will now pay a penalty fee of £5 million ($6.7m) in order to get out of their agreement to buy Sancho from United for a fee of around £25 million.
United bought him from Borussia Dortmund on June 30 2021 for a fee of £73m. Now, here we are four years later and Chelsea don’t even want him for even a 1/3 of that price.
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So now Sancho must find a new destination- back to the Bundesliga, where he enjoyed the best success of his career? Although most likely not back to BVB. For Sancho, his career is obviously heading downhill so maybe it’s already time for him to move to Major League Soccer?
How about the Saudi Pro League? That’s probably his level right now, and there are clubs that would take him.
The other main transfer narrative circulating in Chelsea FC circles today concerns Mike Maignan. The AC Milan goalkeeper is in the crosshairs of the club to become their new #1. Robert Sanchez currently holds that position, with Filip Jorgensen having supplanted him for a time.
Djordje Petrovic is on the roster as well, but he spent this past season on loan at Strasbourg, where he did very well.
Mike Penders, 19, arrives this summer from Genk, but he’ll almost certainly be loaned away as soon as he arrives.
Then you have Gabriel “Gaga” Slonina, the forgotten American acquired from the Chicago Fire FC (in what was a club record sale) in August of 2022. The Addison, IL native is now 21 and has yet to feature for Chelsea, in any capacity.
Gaga has had loan spells at Eupen and Barnsley.
In other words, Chelsea has a ton of solid options, but no real true, clear-cut bona fide first choice. Maignan, 29, is a French international who will see his contract at AC Milan expire next season.
Is this move going to happen?
According to the Daily Mail, it’s “all down to whether Milan want to risk him leaving on a free transfer next summer or allow him to depart for a fee this year.”
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