Jadon Sancho will face a career-defining decision at the end of the season.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes the winger must play as many minutes as he can between now and the end of the campaign.
Following a public falling out with Erik Ten Hag and a prolonged spell of poor form, Sancho, 23, is now facing an Old Trafford exit.
Expected to return to former club Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the season, fans are awaiting official confirmation that the 23-year-old has agreed to move back to the Bundesliga.
And Collymore thinks once the proposed move is finalised, it is in the Englishman’s best interests to forget all about the Red Devils.
“There is almost no chance he ever return to fight for his place at Old Trafford, so his only motivation from now until the end of the season should be on playing his absolute best and getting his reputation back to where it was before he signed for United in the hope of attracting as much interest as possible in the summer,” he said in an exclusive interview.
Speculating what the summer transfer window could have in store for the former Manchester City academy starlet, Collymore reckons the winger’s future will hinge on whether or not he puts money top of his list.
“If he prioritises financial gain over anything else, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he agreed to join a club in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League,” he added.
“But if he is determined to make it at the highest level, he may have to sacrifice some earnings and accept a move to a club whose stature isn’t what Manchester United’s is.”
During his two-and-a-half-years at Old Trafford, Sancho, who has up to three years left on his contract, has scored just 12 goals in 82 games in all competitions.
We all know why Sancho was dropped, it was to let Antony play in his position. Antony took his place on the wing and contributed very little. It was easy then to criticise Sancho when he was given the scraps and played now and again in odd different positions. Why did this happen? Because Ten Hag was the one who bought Antony and he had to try to justify the extortionate fee he paid. He hoped that Antony would eventually come good, but he never did. We all know this happened, and so when Ten Hag publicly criticised Sancho he was furious and wouldn’t lie down and take the unjustified criticism. ManU should keep Sancho and get rid of Ten Hag, together with all his crazy signings.