Man Utd draw up five-man shortlist of forwards with rivals 'interested' in Jadon Sancho

Manchester United have reportedly drawn up a five-man shortlist of forwards to replace Jadon Sancho. The England winger, who was dropped for his side’s Premier League trip to Arsenal in September and subsequently banished from first-team duties after speaking out against manager Erik ten Hag, has been linked with a move to mega-rich Newcastle.

Sancho has failed to ignite his United career since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 and has contributed just 12 goals and six assists in 82 appearances for the club. The 23-year-old last featured for Ten Hag’s side when they overcame Nottingham Forest at the end of August. And it appears the 13-time Premier League champions are now planning for life without the former Manchester City youngster.

According to reliable United insider The Muppetiers, Villarreal star Yeremy Pino, Athletic Bilbao ace Nico Williams and Club Brugge genius Antonio Nusa are all options to replace Sancho. And the Red Devils have also got their eye on Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry and Rennes attacker Martin Terrier.

United’s attacking output has been woeful this season, with the Red Devils finding the back of the net just nine times in their first eight top-flight matches. And their shot-shy performances are partly to blame for their four defeats in the Premier League and two losses in the Champions League.

The same source has also reported that Newcastle are interested in taking Sancho to St James’ Park. The Magpies have gone from strength to strength since being taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund two years ago and have returned to the Champions League for the first time in two decades this season.

Eddie Howe’s team are among the strongest in the Premier League and they will be hoping to secure another top-four finish this season.

After Sancho was dropped for the clash with Arsenal, Ten Hag said the decision was down to the player’s “performances in training”. Sancho then took to X (formerly Twitter) to give his side of the story as he wrote: “Please don’t believe everything you read. I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter which I won’t go into, I’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”

And the player has since been forced to train away from the first team, with United releasing a statement in mid-September which read: “Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training programme away from the first-team group, pending resolution of a squad discipline issue.”