Why Jadon Sancho reaching the Champions League final is an unexpected bonus for Man Utd

Jadon Sancho’s progress to the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund has been an unexpected bonus for Manchester United.

Not because there is a route back for Sancho at his parent club, but because the winger’s transfer market value has soared by him reaching the final. If Sancho is able to lift the Champions League trophy at Wembley on June 1, United are likely to recoup a significant chunk of the £73million they paid Dortmund for him in the summer of 2021.

Despite his rebirth since joining Dortmund on loan in January, United still plan to cash in on Sancho and sell him to the highest bidder this summer. Even if Erik ten Hag is replaced as United boss, the club’s stance is that both parties would be better off if Sancho moved on.

Whether Ten Hag’s successor would share that view remains to be seen but, as it stands, Sancho is unlikely to pull on a United shirt again. That is a great shame because, as the 24-year-old has proved with the revival of his career back at Dortmund, he is a player blessed with rare gifts.

The problem for Sancho is that he showcases his talent too fleetingly, which has been a recurring theme in his turbulent career. If a talent unfulfilled is indeed the greatest waste of all, then Sancho is the embodiment of that maxim – a hugely talented player but one unable to unlock it on a consistent basis.

As a teenager, he frustrated his coaches at Manchester City with his attitude, his unwillingness to wait any longer to break into Pep Guardiola’s side leading to his move to Dortmund. That bold move proved the making of Sancho, who plundered 50 goals in 137 appearances, which earned him his move to United and the long-awaited chance to shine in the Premier League.

But while he thrived at Dortmund, Sancho’s old failings resurfaced at United, where he was unable to settle and produce the sparkling form that made him such a hot property in Germany. His spectacular fall-out with Ten Hag, when he took to social media to publicly question his manager’s authority and claim he had been made a scapegoat, proved the beginning of the end for Sacho.

Jadon Sancho

Exiled from the first-team and their training facilities for four months, salvation came in the form of Dortmund, where Sancho has flourished in familiar surroundings and rediscovered his mojo. In the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint Germain, Sancho tormented their left-back, Nuno Mendes, and was voted man of the match in the first leg.

In the second leg, although he only lasted 67 minutes – a legacy of his enforced lengthy exile at United – he still probed and caused PSG problems with his quick feet, pace and willingness to take on opponents.

The irony of Sancho’s plight is that he would never have found himself playing in the Champions League final – the biggest club game in world football – had Ten Hag not gone public on his feelings about him.

DORTMUND, GERMANY – MAY 01: Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund reacts during the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg match between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain at Signal Iduna Park on May 01, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

After United’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal in September, Ten Hag was asked the reason for Sancho’s omission and claimed it was because the winger had not trained properly, which led to their public spat.

But Ten Hag unwittingly did Sancho a favour, the winger now playing with a smile on his face and on the cusp of winning the Champions League, a competition for which United failed to qualify for next season. In that respect, Sancho has had the last laugh on Ten Hag and United.

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