Jadon Sancho fires cryptic message amid Aston Villa struggles

Jadon Sancho’s Manchester United spell never really recovered from the weight of expectations that came with his £73 million move from Borussia Dortmund.

Unfortunately for the winger, flashes of quality were too often drowned out by inconsistency and long spells on the bench.

That frustration boiled over in September 2023 when Erik ten Hag publicly questioned Sancho’s training levels, only for the winger to respond online and effectively remove himself from first-team contention at Old Trafford.

With no quick route back, Sancho’s exile ended in a return to Borussia Dortmund on loan in January 2024, before another temporary escape arrived last season at Chelsea.

However, Chelsea ultimately chose to pay a £5 million penalty rather than complete the £25 million obligation to buy, sending him back into an uncertain United future.

Now, The Daily Mail has reported that Sancho has posted a rare, cryptic Instagram update as he struggles for consistent minutes on loan at Aston Villa.

The post included messages such as: “You gotta serve a purpose to be around me in my new season. It’s real personal,” alongside “On a mission” and “Distance. Silence. Peace.”

The timing is hard to ignore. Sancho has yet to start a Premier League match for Unai Emery, making eight substitute appearances totalling 127 minutes, while Villa sit third in the table and flying under the radar in the title picture.

Emery has insisted he still believes Sancho can make an impact in the second half of the season, but admitted the winger needs help to find his best level again.

For United, the bigger picture is that Sancho is now entering the final six months of his contract, with the club holding an option to extend by a year.

Reports have suggested United are prepared to let that option go unused however and allow Sancho to run his deal down at Villa Park before leaving on a free, rather than extending purely to try and sell him.