‘Wages are so big’ – Ferdinand rules out Man Utd sale but could see loan move for player

Former Man Utd defender Rio Ferdinand doubts Jadon Sancho will leave Old Trafford on a permanent basis in the summer because of his huge wage packet.

Sancho joined Man Utd in July 2021 from Borussia Dortmund for around £73m with big things expected from the England international.

The 23-year-old contributed 37 goals and 41 assists in 92 Bundesliga appearances during the three league seasons before arriving at Old Trafford.

But his goal contributions have been poor at Man Utd over his first two campaigns with eight goals and five assists in 52 Premier League appearances.

Antony, who signed from Ajax in the summer transfer window, has also failed to live up to big expectations with four goals and two assists in 32 Premier League matches this term.

But former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher claimed that Antony gets more stick than Sancho despite delivering “more in six months than Sancho has in two years”.

Presumably also referring to his goals in other competitions, Carragher tweeted: “Antony has done more in six months than Sancho has in two years. Yet Antony gets plenty of criticism and Sancho gets very little.”

When asked if Sancho had contributed enough for Man Utd this term, Paul Scholes recently said: “Not yet I don’t think, I still think there’s a lot more to come from him, he obviously had his issues and problems that the manager dealt with, he came back and scored a couple of goals.

“I still think there’s a player in there, he just needs the right players around him.

“Remember at Dortmund before, he had a flying right-back going on all the time, which really helped him because he’s not a quick player, he’s more of a skilful player who wants to play football, he wants to play with his centre-forward and right-back.

“If United can possibly find a better right-back it might make him a different proposition.”

Speaking about his performance in Man United’s 3-0 defeat to Sevilla last month, Scholes added: “You see Jadon Sancho in the first five minutes tonight, the ball bounced off him three times, terrible weight of pass too. I’m a big fan of the lad but you’ve got to liven up and be ready.”

But Ferdinand doubts Man Utd will be able to sell Sancho this summer as his wages are too much but the former centre-back could see him leaving on loan.

“The thing is with someone like Sancho, wages are so big, its difficult to move him,” Ferdinand told the Vibe with Five podcast.

“If someone says, ‘we think you are worth half,’ the way he has been playing, he isn’t going nowhere. He isn’t moving. [A] loan, maybe.”

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