Jadon Sancho's career is at a crossroads, with the Manchester United and England forward unsure where he will be playing his football next season.
The 24-year-old has a contract at Old Trafford until June 2026, so unless a summer transfer or another loan can be agreed, he will be back with the 20-time English champions for the 2024-25 campaign.
That, as it stands, would mean a reunion with Erik ten Hag, as the Dutchman remains in control of the Red Devils despite the widespread speculation surrounding his future.
A decision on Ten Hag is yet to be made, with Man United weighing up all options before deciding whether to replace the FA Cup-winning head coach this summer.
Sancho's future is likely to be related to what happens with Ten Hag, as it is very difficult to imagine the ex-Manchester City forward playing under the Dutchman again.
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Sancho's career is at a crossroads
A strong pre-season last summer led to claims that Sancho would start the 2023-24 campaign in Man United's first XI, but he was only a substitute for their first three Premier League matches.
The forward was then left out entirely against Arsenal, with Ten Hag claiming that poor performances in training had led to the player being dropped, but Sancho insisted that was not the case.
Having effectively branded his manager a liar and then refused to apologise, the attacker was removed from the first-team picture at Old Trafford, and he returned to Dortmund on loan in January.
Sancho has score three times and registered three assists in 20 appearances back with BVB, and he could lift the Champions League trophy at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
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Dortmund want to re-sign Sancho permanently
Dortmund are keen to bring him back on a permanent basis, but there have been claims that Man United want as much as £50m for the forward, so a deal this summer will be very difficult.
The Red Devils are not believed to be willing to accept a cut-price fee, even if that means Sancho heading back to Old Trafford to again work under Ten Hag.
A change of manager would significantly increase the likelihood of Sancho reigniting his Old Trafford career, but it is very difficult to imagine him turning out for Ten Hag again.
The situation is therefore at a stalemate, and it will be fascinating to see what happens in the coming weeks.
Sancho will know that his performances at Man United have not been good enough, only managing 12 goals and six assists in 82 appearances in all competitions.
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Sancho has played his best football at Dortmund
In contrast, he has managed 53 goals and 67 assists in 157 appearances for Dortmund across two spells, and it is clear that he feels at home with the Bundesliga giants.
Sancho has not had the same love at Old Trafford, but he has not earned it either.
Man United forwards coach Benni McCarthy recently addressed Sancho's fall-out with Ten Hag, telling 947 Joburg: "If you're from the streets, no one wants to apologise. You admit you are not training well, you are lazy, everything you are accused of. Jadon wasn't going to have that.
"The manager has a strong character and just said that all he wants is an apology. Jadon thought that he had done nothing wrong. He didn't see why he had to apologise. Sometimes you have to apologise, because a player will never win against a manager.
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Sancho's relationship with Ten Hag has broken down
"I spoke to Jadon as a coach, as a mentor, as a friend, and as someone who grew up on the streets and knows the code.
"But Jadon just wasn't seeing it. He said, "I ain't apologising because if I do, I'm apologising for being lazy, always being late, not giving my best – that's what I'm apologising for". Those were his reasons.
"I spoke to the manager and I said to him that you know the delicacy, and I think Jadon feels that if he apologises then he's going to be classed as someone who doesn't train hard, doesn't work hard, that everything that was said against him was true."
Sancho may end this season as a Champions League winner, but he could be forced to issue that apology if he is to continue at Man United, with a permanent switch to Dortmund difficult to navigate due to the numbers involved.
Matt Law
