Jadon Sancho’s Aston Villa loan has not ignited as hoped, with Emiliano Buendia’s resurgence and Unai Emery’s tactical preferences limiting his playing time, suggesting a possible return to Borussia Dortmund.
Jadon Sancho’s high-profile loan move to Aston Villa, intended to reignite his career after falling out of favor at Manchester United, has yet to get off the ground, with the winger currently being sidelined by an unlikely rival.
According to a report from iNews, Sancho was keen on the move after witnessing the career revival of his former United teammate Marcus Rashford, who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Villa in the second half of last season.
Sancho, who was on loan at Chelsea himself last term, even received a glowing endorsement from Rashford before joining, revealing his teammate called the club “a family and you feel that friendly environment.”
This environment also proved fruitful for Champions League winner Marco Asensio, with both players using their half-season spells to secure promising summer moves: Rashford to Barcelona and Asensio to Fenerbahce.
Sancho’s own “restoration project however is yet to get off the ground,” proving only marginally better than that of frozen-out winger Harvey Elliott.
The primary factor keeping the Manchester United loanee out of Unai Emery’s starting XI is the unanticipated resurgence of Emiliano Buendia.
The Argentine, who missed Emery’s first full campaign due to a devastating ACL injury and was even free to leave in the summer, was determined to stay and fight after a meeting with the manager.
This has become “one of the stories of the Premier League campaign so far.” Buendia has since scored four goals, including October’s Premier League goal of the month at Tottenham Hotspur, and has started the most games on the left wing (six) for Villa since deadline day.
By contrast, Sancho is yet to start a Premier League match and has only made Villa’s XI three times across all competitions: once in the EFL Cup and twice in the Europa League.
He has played just 88 of his 336 total minutes in the Premier League, primarily coming off the bench.
With other players like Morgan Rogers and John McGinn also favoured, the red light is blinking for Sancho, who may now be looking longingly elsewhere, with a U-turn move back to Borussia Dortmund having been mooted in Germany.