Chelsea pass on Sancho so pay Man Utd £5m penalty

Manchester United loaned former Manchester City academy player Sancho to Chelsea after he fell out with former manager Erik ten Hag

Chelsea have opted not to sign winger Jadon Sancho on a permanent basis and will instead pay a £5m penalty to send the player back to Manchester United.

However, the Blues have expressed their interest to AC Milan in signing France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Sancho moved to Stamford Bridge on loan last summer after his relationship with former United manager Erik ten Hag broke down.

United, who signed Sancho for £73m from Borussia Dortmund in 2021, are happy for the 25-year-old to leave.

Chelsea did not pay a loan fee for the player and covered just half of his reported £300,000-a-week wages.

The Blues had agreed an obligation to buy Sancho for a fee of about 25m if they finished higher than 14th in the Premier League, which they did - or pay to get out of the deal.

However, the club and the player's representatives have not been able to agree on a contract for Sancho, who would have had to take a pay cut from his deal at United.

"Grateful for the experience," said Sancho. "Big love to everyone at Chelsea who made me feel at home - team-mates, staff and the fans.

"Wishing the club all the best moving forward. Truly grateful, thank you Blues."

The England forward has a year remaining on his United contract, and the club still owe £17m to Dortmund.

Sancho scored in the 4-1 win over Real Betis on Wednesday to help Chelsea win the Conference League - their first trophy since February 2022 - and ended the season with five goals and 10 assists in 42 games.

Although he is under contract until 30 June at Chelsea, he is unlikely to play for them in this month's Club World Cup in the United States.

Maignan emerges as goalkeeper target

Chelsea have learned that doing a deal for Maignan is a possibility, because the goalkeeper would be interested in a move to Stamford Bridge.

The 29-year-old has been a regular for Milan since joining them on a five-year contract from Lille in 2021.

He has been first choice for France since Hugo Lloris retired from international football in January 2023.

Chelsea have struggled to find a long-term option in goal since buying Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018 for £71m, which remains the world-record fee for a goalkeeper.

Two years later they brought in Edouard Mendy, who left for Al-Ahli in 2023, while Kepa has spent the past two seasons on loan at Real Madrid and then Bournemouth.

In the past two years the Blues have also signed Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic and Filip Jorgensen but the club appears unconvinced by all three.

Petrovic spent last term on loan at Strasbourg while Sanchez and Jorgensen both had spells in the Chelsea team.