Sancho could make transfer repeat as club breaks silence on interest | Football | Sport

He has netted just 12 goals in 83 outings for the Red Devils and has spent the previous two-and-a-half seasons away on loan. Sancho featured for Dortmund during the latter half of the 2023/24 season, while he was also with Chelsea last term. The Blues were obliged to make that arrangement permanent but paid a penalty fee to withdraw from that commitment.

Sancho has subsequently been with Aston Villa but has found the net just once throughout his spell in the Midlands. And with his contract set to expire this summer, and United opting not to trigger an option to prolong that by a further season, he is scheduled to depart the club.

Dortmund managing director Ricken has now explained that Sancho is amongst several prospective targets for the German outfit. Speaking to Sport Bild, he said: “We are currently looking at a lot of players and analysing them. We check whether they can make us better. We are doing the same with Jadon.

“Of course, we are looking for an offensive player who brings quality, can help us immediately, and doesn’t require an unrealistic transfer fee. In defense, Niklas Süle is leaving us, and Emre Can will be out for a while. So we are thinking about that area as well.”

Sancho has experienced a challenging campaign with Villa, having featured in just 17 starting line-ups across all competitions. His solitary goal arrived in a 1-0 away victory against Fenerbahce in the Europa League.

However, speaking earlier this year, manager Unai Emery seemed to indicate he would be receptive to securing the transfer permanently. He said: “Not yet, but he is a fantastic player. Hopefully he can help us by increasing his qualities in our structure like he is doing.

“He will need another contract, and maybe it could be here. If he plays his best football, we will want him. But also other teams could be involved in the interest for him.”

Regarding his displays for Villa, Emery added: “The first part of the season was not enough. He was working and trying, but not achieving the performance we needed. Now he is getting better. He is getting the challenge for him and us.”