Manchester United ‘discuss swap deal with Chelsea that would see Jadon Sancho head to Stamford Bridge and Raheem Sterling join the Red Devils’ as rivals look to unload unwanted forwards

Manchester United and Chelsea are said to be in talks over a swap deal that would see Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling swap places.

According to The TelegraphUnited sporting director Dan Ashworth held talks with Chelsea on Tuesday over a deal that would see Sancho move to Stamford Bridge and Sterling to Old Trafford.

Chelsea are expected to pay a portion of Sterling’s salary – which is reported to be in excess of £300,000-a-week – while Manchester United will reportedly cover the remainder if the deal goes through.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have been fans of Sancho for years, despite his disappointing career at Manchester United, believing he would be a valuable addition to the club’s wealth of attacking players.

The deal could be mutually beneficial for both players, given they have been ousted from their respective clubs. Sancho’s relationship with Erik ten Hag has left him waiting in the wings, while Chelsea’s bloated squad has seen Sterling slip down the pecking order.

Sancho’s arrival at Manchester United in the summer of 2021 was met with huge excitement and anticipation. Having played for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, United fans saw Sancho as the missing piece to revitalise the club’s attack.

He was one of Europe’s most highly regarded young talents, known for his dribbling, creativity and ability to unlock defences. His signing represented a significant outlay for the club, costing around £73 million.

Sancho’s time at United has been anything but smooth sailing, however. His first season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and later Ralf Rangnick was disappointing. Although he showed flashes of brilliance, he struggled to consistently replicate the form he had shown in Germany.

His adaptation to the Premier League proved more difficult than expected, with Sancho seemingly struggling to cope with the physicality and pace of the English game.

Despite moments of individual quality, his impact on the team has been limited, with his numbers – just five goals and three assists in all competitions in the 2021-22 season – reflecting his struggles.

Under Erik ten Hag, the 2022-23 season went somewhat better, as the Dutch coach placed a lot of emphasis on team discipline, pressing and structured attacking play.

Sancho started the season well, but again fell into inconsistency. Ten Hag, known for his strict approach to coaching, began to question Sancho’s attitude and work rate in training.

As the season progressed, Sancho’s role in the team diminished, with him spending more time on the bench than in the starting lineup. As a result, the relationship between Sancho and Ten Hag deteriorated further in the 2023-24 season.

Tensions reached a peak in September 2023, when Ten Hag openly criticised Sancho’s training performances, citing them as the reason for his exclusion from the matchday squad.

Sancho responded with a now infamous social media post, in which he directly contradicted Ten Hag’s comments and insisted that Ten Hag had been the ‘scapegoat’. This public outrage caused a media storm and severely strained the relationship between player and coach.

The situation put Sancho’s future at the club in serious doubt, with reports of disciplinary issues and disagreements between Sancho and Ten Hag, with the player even being banned from first-team training.

Sancho’s disregard for Ten Hag’s authority was seen as a breach of the manager’s emphasis on discipline and unity, values ​​that Ten Hag has sought to instill since arriving at United.

With the club backing the manager, a stalemate ensued over Sancho’s refusal to apologise, leading to speculation that he could be sold or loaned out in the upcoming transfer window.

However, the feud is said to have been settled and Sancho travelled to Brighton with United on Saturday for their second Premier League game of the season. But he was left out of the squad as the Red Devils were beaten 2-1 by the Seagulls.

Questions remain over Sancho’s future at the club, despite the Man United manager insisting he has drawn a line under their dispute, with many even believing he will leave this summer.

Chelsea are not the only club interested in Sancho. Juventus have considered a loan move for the United player, which could also mean an obligation to buy the winger for £40m.

Chelsea will be hoping to beat the Italian giants to his signature, but they will need to sell at least six players before a deal is feasible, with the club still looking for a striker this summer.

The Blues are open to a player joining United as part of a potential deal for Sancho and believe Sterling would be a good option, having fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge.

Raheem Sterling’s move from Manchester City to Chelsea in the summer of 2022 was seen as a major move for the London club. Sterling, a multiple Premier League winner with City and a key figure in the England national team, arrived at Stamford Bridge with a proven track record and the expectation that he would help improve Chelsea’s attack.

He was one of the first big players signed by Todd Boehly, who spent heavily to revitalize the roster after the departure of Roman Abramovich.

But like Jadon Sancho at Manchester United, Sterling’s time at Chelsea was marked by inconsistency and underperformance.

His debut season in 2022-23 coincided with a turbulent period for Chelsea, with the club going through several managerial changes and struggling to find real cohesion and identity on the pitch.

Thomas Tuchel, the manager who signed Sterling, was sacked early in the season and his replacement, Graham Potter, failed to bring stability. The constant tactical changes and lack of continuity in the squad affected Sterling’s form and he struggled to adapt to the different systems used by different managers.

Sterling, who had flourished in Pep Guardiola’s structured and dominant Manchester City team, found himself in a Chelsea team that lacked direction and consistency, and his performances reflected the general disarray at the club.

Although he remained one of Chelsea’s more experienced players, Sterling often looked isolated and ineffective in front of goal. His numbers suffered, with his goals and assists dropping significantly compared to his time at Manchester City.

The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2023 was supposed to herald a fresh start for Sterling and the club as a whole. Pochettino’s arrival brought hope that Chelsea could regain their competitive edge, and Sterling was expected to be a key figure in the Argentine’s plans.

There were initial signs of improvement, with Sterling playing a more prominent role in the early stages of the season. However, Chelsea’s form remained inconsistent and Sterling’s performances continued to fluctuate.

One of the main issues with Sterling’s time at Chelsea was his positioning. At City he thrived as a winger in a highly structured system where his role was clearly defined.

At Chelsea, he has been deployed in a variety of positions — as a winger, striker and even as a false nine — making it difficult for him to find a rhythm. The lack of an established attacking system has been a major factor in his struggles, as Chelsea’s revamped squad has yet to form a cohesive unit.

Furthermore, Chelsea currently have a whopping 43 players in their ranks, meaning space under Maresca is limited.