A player from Chelsea and Manchester United is currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Ian Maatsen (Image: Getty)
Jadon Sancho is reportedly not Borussia Dortmund’s top target, which has dealt a blow to Manchester United’s hopes of offloading the England star this summer. As the Blues have also loaned a player there this season, Chelsea may instead benefit from the German team’s expenditures.
Only in January did Ian Maatsen sign a new contract extension at Stamford Bridge, which is set to expire in 2026.
But a few days later, the 22-year-old defender—his fourth loan out since entering the senior ranks at Chelsea in 2019—moved to Dortmund for a six-month stint.
Despite not playing in the Premier League until the current 2023–24 season, he has made frequent appearances for Dortmund, totaling 22 games across all competitions. When his current team plays Real Madrid at Wembley in the Champions League final this Saturday, the Dutchman still has a chance to end the season on a high note.
Furthermore, rumors state that Maatsen will be the Bundesliga team’s top priority during the upcoming transfer window. The player has a £35 million release clause in his new Chelsea contract, and it is reported that he is eager to stay.
Sancho, an ex-England forward, may have to return to Manchester if Dortmund is unable to fund moves for both him and Maatsen, even though head coach Edin Terzic is also keen to sign him. United will be disappointed by the development, as they may now have to decide whether to accept the 24-year-old outsider back into the fold.
Jadon Sancho is due to return to Man Utd next month. (Image: Getty)
Since returning to Germany, Sancho has seemed more energetic; however, his parent club has made a significant salary contribution. His current £300,000-per-week contract with United expires in2026, and given that Dortmund is known for taking a cautious financial approach, the sums involved may prove to be a problem.
Prior to his explosive confrontation with Erik ten Hag in September, Sancho made 82 appearances for the Manchester United team. According to his manager, he was benched from the 3-1 loss at Arsenal because of insufficient effort during practice. After sharply criticizing his Dutch coach on social media, the player was rightly suspended from first team practice.
Ten Hag hasn’t entirely ruled out the possibility of him joining United again, though. Speaking following Dortmund’s victory over PSG in the Champions League semi-final, he declined to rule out a surprise comeback.
He demonstrated yesterday why Manchester United purchased him and why he is valuable to the team, the player said. That’s excellent. Jadon’s performance yesterday made me happy. We’ll have to wait and see what happens later.
After the star’s performances for England in the postponed Euro 2021 competition, United paid £80 million for him in the summer of 2022. With Sir Jim Ratcliffe expected to oversee an overhaul this summer, the club will probably want to recoup a sizable portion of that fee if he is sold this summer.
