Sport

Jadon Sancho set for return to Manchester United after Chelsea pay to avoid permanent signing

What would you like to see happen with Sancho, Reds?

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 3rd June 2025

England winger Jadon Sancho looks like he’s coming back to Manchester United, at least for the time being, following his stint at Chelsea, with the Premier League club opting to pay a penalty in order to avoid signing him full-time.

Sancho was loaned out to the UEFA Conference League winners just over a year ago after falling out with the previous Man United head coach, Erik ten Hag, playing 42 games for the West Londoners.

The naturally gifted winger, who was considered one of the hottest prospects in Europe just a few short years ago, also pulled back on a Borussia Dortmund shirt for a six-month loan spell in January 2024, but his return was never made permanent either.

In the case of Chelsea, despite having an obligation to buy Sancho when they initially signed him last summer, the deal – worth a reported £25 million – included a £5m clause which would allow them to get out of said obligation: a clause that owner Todd Boehly’s club has seemingly to have activated.

As per the likes of The Athletic, Sancho is set for a return to MUFC and Carrington as he waits to see what the INEOS administration and new manager Ruben Amorim (who is yet to have the 25-year-old among his options since arriving at Old Trafford) do with him.

ADVERTISEMENT

It remains to be seen whether or not the former Man City youth star will make another appearance at the Theatre of Dreams itself, but with co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said to be strapped for cash and yet still looking to bring in new players, they’ll be hoping at least fetch a decent fee for the him.

Sancho registered five goals and 10 assists during his time at Stamford Bridge, and despite perhaps not lighting the world on fire, he proved to be a useful addition to the squad and contributed in some big moments – that recent European final being the standout this season.

ADVERTISEMENT

Nevertheless, it is believed that Chelsea were unwilling to match the salary paid by his parent club, with the one-time national team starlet said to be on weekly wages of around £300,000, according to reports.

Born in the capital himself, Sancho grew to be favoured by a sizeable portion of the supporters, and while the Man United fan base is pretty divided when it comes to Sancho coming back, there are plenty of Blues that will miss him.

Meanwhile, regardless of his return to United, Sancho being moved on rather quickly looks the most likely outcome now that the summer transfer window is open.

ADVERTISEMENT

He has already caused some controversy among even those who were open to him coming back following a recent post on fellow loanee Marcus Rashford’s Instagram, which was seen by many as a dig at his employers.

As for how much Sancho would fetch in the current market following his performances under Enzo Maresca, who knows?

What would you like to see happen with Sancho, Reds?

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Sky Sports (screenshot via YouTube)/Ardfern (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

The UK’s only football shirt themed vintage fair is in Manchester this weekend

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The UK's only football shirt themed vintage fair is in Manchester this weekend

An enormous vintage fair dedicated to football shirts is landing in Manchester this weekend, packed with more than 35 traders.

The Retro Football Fair is set to take over Diecast near Manchester Piccadilly for a huge celebration of all things footbal.

Expect rail upon rail of vintage football shirts, as well as stalls selling artwork, memorabilia, cards, and loads more.

The event comes from Retro Football Shirts, a business that sources and sells retro and rare football shirts.

The business is owned by Tom Rainsford, who started the journey back in 2018 by selling a few jerseys on Depop – fast forward a few years and it’s now a global website selling jerseys from across UK, European and international teams.

Retro Football Fair is another string to the business’s bow and has been attracting thousands of football fans at every event.

The UK's only football shirt themed vintage fair is in Manchester this weekend
The UK's only football shirt themed vintage fair is in Manchester this weekend
The UK’s only football shirt themed vintage fair is in Manchester this weekend

Now it’s Manchester’s turn, with the huge vintage fair filling Diecast with thousands of retro football shirts on Sunday 28 September.

While the main attraction is those kits, the fair welcomes any trader selling items related to the beautiful game – so you’ll find all sorts of footy-related items on sale here.

The event will kick off at midday and run until 5pm – tickets cost £5 and are available HERE, or on the door.

Manchester City or Manchester United season ticket holders can claim 20% off the full ticket price.

For more, follow @Retro_Football_Fair on Instagram.

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

Sport

‘The United Strand’ shares update after video of assault at Old Trafford goes viral

Danny Jones Danny Jones The United Strand shares update after Old Trafford attack

Viral Manchester United fan Frank Ilett, more commonly known online as ‘The United Strand’, has now spoken out in a video update after a clip of him being attacked by another man at Old Trafford was shared across social media.

The 29-year-old Man United supporter was in attendance for the Red Devils’ rainy win against Chelsea in the Premier League this past weekend, and proved a popular figure around the majority of the stadium.

However, despite being previously preoccupied with meeting, greeting and taking selfies with other United fans, his time at Theatre of the Dreams took a more nightmarish turn as one individual began pulling him by the hair before being separated by Reds in the vicinity.

The supporter who assaulted Ilett has yet to be identified, but Frank himself has now opened up on the incident in his latest video.

Sharing a lengthy update across all of The United Strand accounts,

It’s worth noting that Frank didn’t take a break from his daily posting challenge either, as his streak of not cutting hair and recording its now internet-famous growth every day until Man United win five games in a row continues.

But as for the ordeal itself, as you can see, Frank genuinely thought his aggressor was just joking at first.

Just like those around him, it only clicked that the man meant to do him harm when he “properly started yanking my hair”, detailing that he also called him an “attention-seeking [undisclosed expletive]” at the same time.

Sadly, Frank – who not only started this challenge as a silly bit of fun but also to help raise money for charity – went on to reveal that, unfortunately, this wasn’t the only less-than-warm reception he received from fans in and around the stadium.

In addition to the unprovoked attack, Frank says he also received some verbal abuse.

Manchester United are yet to issue any kind of public statement regarding the matter, but subsequent reports have claimed that United officials have been made aware of the footage and are now investigating the incident internally, and will “impose strong sanctions” if/when caught.

You can read more on the altercation down below.

Fellow fan account Stretford Paddock (formerly Full Time Devils) responded in the comments: ‘Keep it up, Frank. You’re giving us all a smile at a difficult time as United fans and doing some brilliant things along the way!

Even JD Sports offered their support with a reply, with their social media admin writing, “Keep doing your thing, broski.”

As for Frank Ilett, besides thanking those who helped him in the inexcusable moment of violence, he reiterated that not only did he never expect to still be doing this challenge, but that it was only ever meant to be “something to laugh at in a difficult time as fans.”

His goal was simply to “spread positivity and humour”; we can only hope that he faces nothing but more of the many “positive interactions” that he did in fact enjoy on the day, the next time he visits the ground.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The United Strand (screenshot via YouTube/Instagram)

More Sport

Salford City statement on Yorkshire Police racist incident investigation

Crime

Salford City ‘extremely disappointed’ in Yorkshire Police’s investigation after racist abuse

Ernst van Rhyn new Sale Sharks club captain

Salford

Sale name Ernst van Rhyn as new Sharks skipper following contract extension

Manchester United extending safe standing

Property

Manchester United confirm extension of rail seating and safe standing options

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches