Jadon Sancho's final kick of a ball in a Manchester United shirt was a missed opportunity that came at a cost: the rather tame penalty that Ederson saved in the Community Shield shootout. Perhaps it was a microcosm of a United career that is, in effect, now over.
Sancho was omitted from the 20-man Premier League matchday squads for the games against Fulham and Brighton. He completed a move to Chelsea on Saturday, so late it felt like a deadline-day afterthought. It is a loan but with an obligation to buy for £20-£25m. After a mere 83 games, just 12 goals and only six assists, Sancho now forms part of United’s past.
The numbers indicate the scale of the failure, footballing and financial. In effect, United will lose some £50m on the transfer fee they paid, with Borussia Dortmund’s contribution to Sancho’s loan last season largely covering his wages and part of his salary now still being paid at Old Trafford. They have written off bigger sums – the world-record signing Paul Pogba departed on a free transfer – and may have to again, given that Antony cost still more than Sancho. But it is about the football pitch as well as the balance sheet.
Sancho’s last two competitive appearances have come at Wembley. In the first, he started a Champions League final for Dortmund, fresh from a man-of-the-match display in the semifinal. After the latest, a cameo for United – less prominent than some expected, with rumours Sancho could start as a false nine – came confirmation of his place in Ten Hag’s pecking order.
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