Damning verdict drops on €85m Man Utd signing: 'Not much ability'

Tom Weber
Tom Weber
  • Updated: 9 Sept 2025 17:02 BST
  • 4 min read
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ruben Amorim, Man Utd
© IMAGO

Pundit Jamie Carragher has delivered a scathing assessment of Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho after his last-minute loan move to Aston Villa.

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The 25-year-old is looking to resurrect his career at Villa Park by following in the footsteps of Marcus Rashford, who had left Old Trafford for Birmingham in January and was revitalised.

Unai Emery has shown that he can give flagging stars a new lease on life, but Sancho is arguably his biggest project yet. The former England international has not been able to live up to his €85 million price tag following his move to Man Utd in 2021.

Current ETV
Player image Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho

M (RL), AM (L)

Aston Villa logo

Aston Villa

Jadon Sancho
Jadon Sancho

M (RL), AM (L)

Aston Villa

Aston Villa

€31.5M

ETV Range

€28.4M - €34.7M

Sancho is now into his third loan stint away from the Red Devils, but his future at the highest level of football is uncertain. He will likely never get terms as lucrative as his current Man Utd contract ever again, and his deal is up at the end of the season.

There is the option to extend his contract by a further season, but there are surely many at Man Utd who will feel that simply letting him go in 2026 is better than bothering with him for another year.

Carragher: Sancho has not much ability

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has now given a devastating assessment of Sancho's time in the Premier League, claiming that he fails to see 'much ability' in the 23-time England international.

"It's funny with Jadon Sancho,” Carragher began on The Overlap. "Back when he was at Borussia Dortmund, Gary Neville and I were on a show where we had to pick an England squad.

Jadon Sancho
© IMAGO - Jadon Sancho

"We hadn't seen too much of him. He was doing well in the Champions League, but we left him out. Everyone on social media was saying, 'How can you not pick Sancho?' I'm still not sure there's that much ability there. He's okay, but I don't really see what his standout quality is.

"With Marcus Rashford, even though I've criticised him, I can picture his pace, his shooting, his free kicks, the power he puts into the ball. With Sancho, I just don't know what his thing is. I can't picture it in my head."

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