Fabrizio Romano delivers Jadon Sancho certainty on Man Utd future amid Aston Villa U-turn claims | OneFootball

Jadon Sancho has been told he will never play for Manchester United again after Fabrizio Romano delivered a few home truths over the on-loan Aston Villa star and with the winger earning some rare praise by Red Devils legend Wayne Rooney.

The 25-year-old moved to Villa Park on a season’s loan over the summer – the latest in a series of high-profile stints away from Manchester United, whom he joined in a £73m ($85m, $100m) in 2021. Having rarely shown the Red Devils what he is capable of and the form that convinced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to splash out one of the largest fees in the club’s history, the last couple of seasons have essentially been about how and where the former England winger will rebuild his faltering career.

While Sancho shone back with former club Borussia Dortmund, helping them reach the 2024 Champions League final, a year’s loan with Chelsea saw the Blues back out of a permanent deal, while his form so far with Villa has yet to truly spark into life.

In the wake of that, reports earlier this month suggested Aston Villa were ready to call time early on Sancho’s stint on loan with the club; much the same as the Spanish tactician has recently done with Harvey Elliott and in his loan move from Liverpool.

However, sources have insisted to our transfer correspondent, Graeme Bailey, that Villa plan to stand by Sancho over the duration of the current campaign, giving him further opportunities to prove his worth and potentially seal a permanent deal at the end of it.

In the wake of that, Romano has now offered his thoughts on the player’s situation and has made clear that he will ‘never play for Manchester United again’ and his Old Trafford chapter is now considered ‘over’.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Jadon Sancho is out of contract in the summer transfer window. Man Utd have an option to extend, but from what I’m told, they have already been clear with people close to Sancho.

“Man Utd believe that the chapter of Sancho at Man Utd is closed and there is no chance to find a different way. Sancho will not play for Man Utd again, and this is the clear position of the club.

“We will be following what’s going to happen. Now I think it’s time to let Jadon Sancho take his time with Aston Villa, enjoy his time at Aston Villa, and try to make an impact.”

Sancho on a mission to salvage career with Villa as Rooney offers rare praise

Sancho has made 13 appearances so far for Villa, but is yet to make much of an impression, so far failing to contribute either a goal or an assist.

Ineligible to face his parent club, Manchester United, on December 21, Sancho stepped off the bench for Villa in Saturday’s impressive 2-1 win at Chelsea, which extended the club’s run of results to 11 straight wins.

As a result of that 59th minute introduction, as a replacement for Donyel Malen, Sancho looked like he had the bit between his teeth and eager to make up for lost time as he bids to win favour under Emery at Villa Park and ahead of what he hopes will be a strong second half to the season.

That performance on Saturday certainly drew praise from Rooney, who liked what he saw from the 25-year-old.

“Jadon Sancho came into this as well, and we haven’t seen much of him this season, but I thought he was excellent when he came on,” Rooney said on BBC’s Match of the Day.

“Getting the ball, driving with the ball and committing the Chelsea defenders and then they had runners, they had Morgan Rogers making runs in behind.”

‘Perfect’ midfield target to join Man Utd; big update on Harvey Elliott saga

Elsewhere on the Manchester United outgoing front, it’s been reported that two international stars have worked in tandem to change the destiny of a £50.7m star now poised to leave Old Trafford and with a sizeable January deal about to take shape.

As United close the door on Sancho, reports in Italy have doubled down on claims that the Red Devils are poised to push through a €65m deal for a star branded ‘perfect’ for their midfield.

One man who won’t be signing any time soon, though, is Jude Bellingham, after sources dug into fanciful claims in Spain that a record-shattering move to Old Trafford was in the works next summer. Safe to say the talk has been quickly and emphatically dismissed.

Down at Villa, while Romano continues to insist that Liverpool are ready to cut short Elliott’s miserable loan spell in the second city, a second report has revealed there are two ‘layers of complexity’ around his situation and as the two clubs work on a potential solution.