After arriving from Borussia Dortmund for a staggering £73 million, Sancho will leave having cost the club £138 million, when factoring in his astronomical £250,000-per-week salary over a five-year contract, according to financial calculations by the Daily Mail.

The 25-year-old is now on his third loan spell away from the club, this time at Aston Villa. Remarkably, the forward has already played more games for other teams than he has for the Red Devils. Sancho has scored only 12 goals and provided six assists in a Manchester United shirt, a meager return for a player who was once the second-most expensive Englishman in history.

At Villa, Sancho has again failed in his attempt to rediscover the spark that once made him the most coveted teenager in Europe. His time in the West Midlands has been largely forgettable, as the player has failed to establish himself as a starter in Unai Emery's first XI.

Sancho has scored only one goal in 25 appearances across all competitions for the Villans, with his sole strike coming in the Europa League. Although Emery has publicly supported the winger, his impact has been minimal. He has started only six Premier League games for Villa so far this season.

With his contract at Old Trafford expiring this summer, interest is growing from afar. Borussia Dortmund is reportedly weighing a sensational third signing of the Englishman as it prepares for a major squad overhaul, with the England international set to be available on a free transfer this summer.

His previous success in the Bundesliga makes him an economically attractive option to replace the outgoing Julian Brandt.

Manchester United appears willing to wash its hands entirely of the situation, even if it means losing the player for nothing. The club has a 12-month extension option in his contract, but according to reports, the hierarchy has decided not to exercise it. INEOS' primary motivation is removing its enormous salary from the books this summer to create budget space for new additions.

Barring a miraculous turnaround, Sancho is destined to leave Old Trafford as an era-defining failure. Although United has managed to recoup small amounts through loan fees from Chelsea and Villa, the player's total net loss is enormous.

From being the face of a new generation at United to becoming a player who can leave on a free transfer, Sancho's decline serves as a cautionary tale about what can happen when a player is signed for big money and things go wrong.

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