Chelsea make Jadon Sancho decision ahead of deadline day as Man Utd suffer transfer blow

TEAMtalk can reveal Chelsea are stepping up their negotiations with Manchester United over signing Jadon Sancho, while one European giant’s efforts to recruit one of his teammates has received a blow.

It looked like Sancho would never play again for Man Utd after falling out with manager Erik ten Hag a year ago, following a dispute about the player’s training standards.

After the former Borussia Dortmund star criticised the Dutchman, the winger was exiled from the first team and spent the first half of the campaign training with the Red Devils’ youth teams.

The England international was then offered to Saudi Pro League sides last January but when that failed to come to fruition, he re-joined Dortmund on loan for the second half of the season.

There, Sancho showed what he can do in the right setup, as he helped guide them to the Champions League final – a match they lost to Real Madrid in May.

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Then, seemingly out of the blue, Ten Hag and Sancho appeared to have drawn a line under their spat, with the 24-year-old featuring for United in their pre-season campaign.

Before their friendly with Rangers in July, the ex-Ajax boss said: “This club needs good players, and one thing is for sure: Jadon is a terribly good player, I hope that the click still comes and that he will contribute to our success.”

Fast forward to the present, however, and Sancho hasn’t played in either of United’s first two Premier League games this season.

On the former Manchester City academy product’s omission, Ten Hag said at the weekend: “He’s here. I had a choice to make and we had some issues. We need a full squad and he is one of them.

“He has to compete for his position and from game to game, we will have a look. In the squad, we need every position double because it’s going to be a long season.”

Chelsea consider Sancho move

TEAMtalk previously revealed that Juventus are continuing to work on the prospective signing of Sancho – whose contract runs until 2026 – but the Italians are yet to offer terms that the Red Devils are prepared to accept.

United are still asking for around £40m for the ex-Dortmund ace, either through a loan deal with an obligation to buy or a permanent transfer exit.

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While that stalls, Chelsea have come into the picture. TEAMtalk understands that United and Chelsea are in serious discussions over a Sancho deal, while a swap deal for Raheem Sterling and the winger has been floated.

However, his £325,000-a-week wages are considered a stumbling block, particularly as Sancho is on significantly less than that – although he is still one of the club’s top earners.

Moreover, The Athletic reports that Sancho is likely to leave United permanently or on loan before the transfer window shuts on August 30.

They add that for Chelsea to proceed, ‘a lot needs to happen’ for winger Sterling to head to Old Trafford and Sancho – who has scored 12 goals in 83 appearances for United – to move to Stamford Bridge.

Eriksen faces uncertain future

Another player on the fringes at United is midfielder Christian Eriksen.

The Denmark international made just 12 Premier League starts last season and with the impending arrival of Manuel Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain, he may find minutes even harder to come by.

The 32-year-old – who TEAMtalk previously revealed is someone the club are looking to offload – is into the last year of his Red Devils contract and last month he had this to say about his Old Trafford future.

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He said: “I have one year left so for me I am a United player. I haven’t been told leave or extension, so in that sense I have one year left on the contract and I feel good, my family is feeling good living in Manchester and United is a nice club.

“In terms of the football you want to play as much as possible. But also you think in terms of: ‘How do I see myself? How do I fit into the team?’ And in those terms I feel good. I feel that I am in a good place.”

The former Tottenham star was linked with a move back to his old club Ajax earlier this summer but now The Athletic claim as it stands, the Dutch giants cannot afford to sign the Dane.

Therefore, they risk losing him as a free agent next summer.