Manchester United are ready to let Jadon Sancho go after his fallout with Erik ten Hag. However, not many expected the Red Devils to use the Englishman in a player-swap deal for a Barcelona attacker.
According to Spanish news outlet Sport, this is what the Premier League giants have in mind, and the player they want in return is Raphinha, the Brazilian winger who is yet to win over his critics in Catalonia.
Sancho arrived at Old Trafford for $101M in the summer of 2021 amid tremendous hype. However, the Englishman has failed to perform before ultimately falling out with the manager following Manchester United's 3-1 loss at Arsenal.
Ten Hag criticized the former Dortmund ace's work rate in training, with the player publicly hitting back at the Dutchman on X (formerly known as Twitter). The pair sat down for a talk shortly afterward but Sancho has been banished from all first-team activities, including training, after refusing to apologize publicly.
Given that he is one of the club's top earners, Manchester United are desperate to get rid of Sancho and have thus offered him to Barcelona. If true, it will be interesting to see how Deco, Barcelona's current sporting director, responds given that he was Raphinha's agent when he left Leeds for Camp Nou.
The Selecao ace was signed for over $60M roughly a year ago amid excitement. However, in his debut campaign, he scored only seven goals and assisted another seven in La Liga. This season has also seen him displaced by highly-rated youngster Lamine Yamal, thus sparking questions over Raphinha's future.
The 26-year has made 12 appearances in the Spanish top flight this season, and while he has been hampered by an injury and a suspension early in the campaign, only five of those 12 appearances were starts.
Nonetheless, he still has two goals and three assists in La Liga this season, the most recent coming in Sunday's 4-2 defeat at home to Girona, which saw him start the game — but not complete the full 90 minutes.
