Chelsea have made a final decision over whether to sign Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho on a permanent basis, it has been reported.
Sancho is currently on loan at Stamford Bridge until the end of June, with a buy clause of £25 million inserted as part of the deal.
However, it was reported in February by The Telegraph that the clause, previously thought to be mandatory, was in fact optional - but that Chelsea had to pay a £5 million fee if they decided not to trigger it.
After strong early-season form, Sancho has started to become a more marginalised figure at Stamford Bridge in recent months.
Advert
And now, The Athletic's David Ornstein reports that Chelsea have decided not to sign Sancho on a permanent basis and instead pay the £5m penalty, meaning he will return to United this summer.
It is added that the main reason behind Chelsea's decision is that they could not agree personal terms with the England international.
The report that Sancho will explore moves both inside England and abroad before deciding on his next destination.
The 25-year-old helped Chelsea to win the Conference League title, and scored in the 4-1 final victory over Real Betis after coming on as a second half substitute.
He has been a regular starter in the Premier League, but only has two goal contributions to his name in 2025 thus far.
Fabrizio Romano reports that United are looking to sell Sancho this summer to raise vital funds to improve Ruben Amorim's squad.
Sancho had already left United on loan before the arrival of Amorim in November, but it appears as if he has no future at Old Trafford regardless.
A move back to the Bundesliga could be on the cards for the winger, given his previous success at Borussia Dortmund.
In his final three seasons in Germany, he provided 78 goal contributions before sealing an €85 million move to United in the summer of 2021
Topics: Jadon Sancho, Chelsea, Manchester United, Transfers, Premier League
Ryan Smart