Barcelona make crucial decisions on Jadon Sancho swap deal with Manchester United and Raphinha's future: Reports
Barcelona have reportedly decided not to sign Jadon Sancho from Manchester United while wishing to keep hold of Raphinha. According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, the Catalan side are not interested in a swap deal for Sancho that could see Raphinha going the other way (via Goal).
The England international has reportedly been frozen out of the Red Devils squad following a public fallout with manager Erik ten Hag. After being left out of Manchester United's squad for the 3-1 loss at Arsenal (September 3) due to training-related concerns, as stated by the manager, Sancho hit back at ten Hag.
The 23-year-old deleted a controversial post on his X account, where he claimed of being made a scapegoat. He hasn't since appeared for ten Hag's side, managing just three substitute appearances this season, adding up to a total playing time of 76 minutes.
Amid these circumstances, it is believed that Sancho does not hold a future at Old Trafford and is likely to be offloaded in January. Since joining the Red Devils in the summer of 2021 for a reported fee of €85 million from Borussia Dortmund, he has scored just 12 goals and assisted six times in 82 appearances across competitions.
Meanwhile, La Blaugrana will only consider selling their Brazilian attacker should a substantial offer come their way in the summer, as per reports. Raphinha has scored two goals and assisted five times in 15 appearances this season.
He joined Barcelona from Leeds United in the summer of 2022 for a reported fee of €58 million. Since arriving at Camp Nou, the winger has scored 12 goals and assisted 17 times in 65 appearances across competitions.
Erik ten Hag opens up about Jadon Sancho's return to Manchester United squad
Manchester United are struggling in the Premier League, sitting sixth with 27 points in 16 matches. The Red Devils could certainly use an additional attacking option like outcast Jadon Sancho.
On the right-hand side, Brazilian winger Antony has been lacklustre this season, failing to register a single goal contribution from his 16 appearances. Marcus Rashford has struggled for form, managing to net just twice from 20 appearances in the 2023/24 campaign.
Amid these concerns, ten Hag addressed Sancho's potential return to the squad last week (via MSN):
"Jadon knows what he has to do if he wants to return and it is up to him. It’s about a culture and every player has to match certain standards and it was about that.”
It seems unlikely that the pair will come to a compromise with Sancho being linked to a move away from Old Trafford in January. Manchester United need a positive result against Bayern Munich on Tuesday (December 12), after having lost three games straight in the English top flight.
They are currently at the bottom of their Champions League group with one round of games left to play. United will need to beat Bayern and also hope that Galatasaray and Copenhagen (the two other teams in their group) play out a draw for the Red Devils to qualify for the round of 16.