Man United sitting on Sancho transfer timebomb with exit timeline explained

It is almost three years since Manchester United signed Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. Now, both parties are determined to find a way out of the contract he penned in July 2021, and the relationship is almost entirely broken.

For Sancho, who arrived as a heralded final piece of the jigsaw – alongside Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo – the move back to England hasn’t worked. He has played just 82 games for United, so far bringing his cost per appearance to an eyewatering £890,000, scoring 12 times in total (£5.8million per goal). Neither metric looks likely to increase.

A split at this stage is on the cards and appears to benefit everyone, especially now Erik ten Hag has seen his contract at the club extended. But while there may well be no shortage of interest in Sancho, getting a deal across the line is easier said than done.

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Not only are United looking to recoup a still significant fee – thought to be around £40million – but he has large wages and everyone knows that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos are hoping to rid themselves of Sancho. In a market easily swayed by external forces and pressures, this certainly doesn’t help the bargaining position.

What makes this even tougher is Sancho’s contractual situation. On the face of it, he still has plenty of time to run. There are almost two years to go on the initial agreement, and therefore pre-contract negotiations with teams outside of England are still 18 months away, with January 2026 the first time he can start those talks.

That is nearly a whole two summers away though, and neither United nor Sancho will want to wait that long to move things on. For United’s financial position and Sancho’s career, the sooner the better a departure can be arranged, the better.

But we have seen this before. It is normally at this time, with a year before the dreaded final 12 months, that clubs will stick or twist with a player, looking to tie them down to fresh terms or starting the sales process.

Because, although it will seem a long way off, by January 2025 – still five months away, but only really half of a full season, and that goes by quickly – Sancho will then be closing in on the prospect of running down his contract instead. At this point, any contractual advantage that United have now will be long gone, and they are faced with losing him for free.

As such, the best time to sell Sancho is this summer. Nobody wishes things to go any further and the relationship has clearly deteriorated beyond repair, but again that does not make things easy.

If United do not find a buyer, and one that Sancho is happy to actually join, by the end of August, then they are in a sticky situation. Even more pressing, perhaps, is that Ratcliffe and his new sporting structure won’t want this to drag on either. For Dan Ashworth and Co, each day is vital in terms of finding a resolution.

Ten Hag and his squad will start initial preparations before pre-season in the coming days. Sancho will not wish to be left in purgatory during a period in which he could be training at a new club. The longer things go on the tougher they get, and the weaker United’s position is.

The clock is very much ticking and how the Sancho situation is resolved is an early test for Ratcliffe and Ineos in an important summer for the club.