Villa’s title challenge hinders Manchester United’s plan to sell Sancho! He might stay instead of moving to the Turkish league, showing excellent performance against Chelsea.

On Saturday, Aston Villa overturned Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, with Manchester United’s loaned winger Sancho coming on as a substitute and receiving positive reviews, retaliating against Chelsea’s summer decision to send him back to United for £5 million. Yet, this situation might not favor Manchester United.

Emery’s substitution of Sancho was well received. The striker Ollie Watkins, who scored twice, said, “Emery is truly a tactical genius, and I’m not just flattering him! When I came on as a substitute in the second half, he also brought on Sancho and Morgan Rogers on the wings and placed Tielemans in the number 10 role, so effectively, we had an extra player in that area.”

During the match, Sancho took on a one-on-one duel on the right flank, nutmegging Chelsea’s Brazilian winger Esteban Orellana, who was bought to replace him. Villa fans jokingly called him the “Neymar” who flipped the script on Chelsea.

Manchester United originally planned to sell Sancho in the January winter transfer window, which depends on two key conditions: first, other clubs showing interest in Sancho, and second, both Sancho and Villa agreeing to terminate the current loan contract early—both are essential.

Because Sancho’s basic weekly wage is as high as £250,000, Manchester United will definitely not activate the one-year extension option in his contract. Otherwise, if he refuses to transfer, the club would have to continue paying a hefty salary. Therefore, United must carefully consider all practical options to avoid losing a player they once signed for £73 million without compensation.

According to Spain’s “Fichajes” transfer website, overseas clubs have begun showing interest in Sancho. His former Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and Ligue 1’s Monaco are reportedly monitoring his situation. However, the club most interested in Sancho is said to be a Turkish team, with Turkish Süper Lig giant Beşiktaş rumored to regard him as their top transfer target.

However, Manchester United’s last hope to sell Sancho might have vanished. Villa is currently enjoying an 11-game winning streak, sitting third in the Premier League, only three points behind leaders Arsenal and just one point behind second-placed Manchester City, making their title chances very real.

Additionally, Villa is competing in the Europa League, so Sancho is more likely to stay at Villa Park to see if he can help chase the Premier League title and create a Leicester City-style underdog miracle. Reportedly, Villa intends to keep Sancho for the rest of the season, insisting that the 25-year-old will continue to contribute to the team.

Sancho still hasn’t started a Premier League match for Villa, nor has he been involved in any goals. After half a season, his playing time has yet to reach 600 minutes.

However, Emery said, “Jadon (Sancho) has not received the playing time he deserves. But I have confidence in him for the second half of this season. He has been demanding a lot from himself and working hard to achieve the best results with us this season. Jadon is still young and has already achieved remarkable success, but now he needs some support to regain his best form. This is a challenge for him and for me as well.”

Regarding Sancho’s future, Emery hinted that he wants him to stay. “Our goal is to maintain consistent performance in Europe, strive for a top Premier League finish by season’s end, and win trophies in various competitions. To achieve this, we must keep raising our standards, setting higher goals every day. This is our ambition and our motivation.”

However, when mentioning the Premier League title race, Emery surprisingly said Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea have better chances than Villa! “If it’s still like this by round 34, then we can discuss it,” Emery said after beating Chelsea. “But it’s only round 18 now, next is round 19 against Arsenal, then Nottingham Forest. If the league ended after Arsenal, we’d be in the title race, but teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea actually have a greater chance to win.”

Emery emphasized the need for humility: “Our current performance is indeed excellent and improving. But just two months ago, we were discussing some worrying matters. Now, we can be very happy. We learned a lot from those difficult times two months ago, and now we must remain humble and pragmatic, clearly understanding what to do in each game and competition.”

Whether Villa can challenge for the title is uncertain, but it seems almost certain that Sancho will leave Manchester United on a free transfer after this season.