Sancho's Old Trafford dream turned into a nightmare due to fall-out with Ten Hag
When Manchester United wrapped up the signing of Jadon Sancho in July 2021, the mood among the Old Trafford hierarchy was self-congratulatory.
Not only had they acquired one of world football's most promising talents, United had won a game of poker with Borussia Dortmund by paying only £73million for the England winger.
That was a saving of £30m on the German club's asking price for Sancho 12 months earlier, an eye-watering sum United had balked at.
The 21-year-old had in the interim enjoyed an astonishing season in Germany, scoring 16 goals and supplying 20 assists, cementing his regular place in Gareth Southgate's England team.
What's more, United completed the deal before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad began pre-season and had structured their payments to Dortmund over five years to help the balance sheet.
But Sancho has only lasted half that time at Old Trafford and that's being generous given he hasn't played a minute for the team since August 26.
As Sancho, now 23, prepares to re-join Dortmund on loan until the end of the season, his story is one of a sad waste of talent and money with both player and club to blame.
It's the kind of waste Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos will be desperate to stamp out now they've taken the reins at Old Trafford.
Sancho joins the likes of Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku on United's list of star players they over-paid for in transfer fees and/or wages - but failed to extract the maximum from during a lost decade of decline.
Unless something extraordinary happens in the next six months, Sancho has probably played his last game for United.
That is even more likely to be the case if Ten Hag weathers the storms of a terrible first half of the season and the Ineos takeover
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