The 2026/27 season is here, and Jadon Sancho still finds himself without a club.
Once one of England’s brightest stars, the 23-time international — who played in a European Championship final with the Three Lions — brought his ill-fated spell at Manchester United to an end this summer following the expiry of his contract.
Sancho hadn’t played for the Red Devils since the 2024 Community Shield, spending time on loan at Chelsea and Aston Villa in the two years since. However, at 26, he now faces a critical summer in his career as he navigates the free agent market.
The player himself is understood to much prefer a move abroad, despite heavy interest from suitors across the Premier League.
So, where could Sancho go next as he seeks to rediscover the form that made him look destined for the top? Here are the dream, realistic and wildcard options.
Dream: Dortmund
This one doesn’t really need much explaining.
Sancho swapped Manchester City for Dortmund in 2017 and never looked back, registering 50 goals and 64 assists in 137 appearances for the Bundesliga giants across four seasons.
It was that form that put Sancho into England contention and earned his huge move to Manchester United in 2021. Furthermore, it was Dortmund who came to the rescue when he needed a career reset in January 2024, returning on loan to notch three goals and three assists in 21 appearances for Die Schwarzgelben — reaching a Champions League final.
Dortmund are heavily linked with a move to bring Sancho to Signal Iduna Park for the third time this summer, and Sky Bet make them the 9/4 favourite individual club to sign him at present.
Sancho will see BVB as a safety net, and the club will see the player as one they can trust to bed in quickly and produce the goods in Germany.
Realistic: Serie A
There has been no shortage of speculation linking Sancho with Serie A in recent times.
AS Roma were understood to have made a £20m offer for the winger last summer, and they might well see Sancho as a cost-effective option this time around after missing out on Crysencio Summerville — who recently traded West Ham for Al Hilal following Premier League relegation.
Fiorentina have also been linked with Sancho this summer as they search for winger depth following the end of Jack Harrison’s and Manor Solomon’s loans.
Those two Italian giants are priced at 6/1 and 8/1, respectively, to sign Sancho, with the latter being the same price offered to 2024/25 Scudetto winners Napoli.
The sheer number of Italian sides interested in Sancho makes this a realistic destination, and Serie A ticks a lot of boxes: the move abroad he craves, a league he’s never played in, and the opportunity to stay and prove himself in a top-five league, potentially winning back favour in the England set-up.
Jadon Sancho’s next club odds
| Club/League | Sky Bet odds |
| Any Qatari Team | 2/1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 9/4 |
| Sunderland | 7/2 |
| Bestikas | 6/1 |
| Al Rayyan | 6/1 |
| Fiorentina | 6/1 |
| Any Saudi Arabian Team | 7/1 |
| Napoli | 8/1 |
| Roma | 8/1 |
| Atletico Madrid | 17/2 |
Wildcard: Head East for the money
The path to the Arabian Peninsula is a well-trodden one for European stars these days.
Right now, Joao Felix, Mateo Retegui, Theo Hernandez and the aforementioned Summerville are just a clutch of the prime-aged big-name European players plying their trade in the Saudi Pro League.
Divert your gaze to the lesser-heralded but still very lucrative Qatari Stars League and you have the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Boubakary Soumare, Marco Verratti, Julian Draxler and Roberto Firmino knocking around.
The Qatari Stars League is Sancho’s most likely next stop according to Sky Bet, who offer a price of 2/1. Meanwhile, the Saudi Pro League at 7/1 is priced just behind Fiorentina and Besiktas (6/1).
The attraction is obvious. Sancho could earn absolutely eye-watering sums if he headed east, especially as a player still very much within his prime.
The level of quality is the obvious drawback, but Saudi Arabia, in particular, has just enough to still feel like a test of Sancho’s mettle.
Sancho must now decide what is most important to him after the setbacks he’s suffered in the last few years: sustaining himself at the top or pulling the golden lever at this crucial stage in a short career.
Squawka Suggests: Sunderland
Borussia Dortmund are the only individual club with shorter odds of signing Sancho than Sunderland at present, with Sky Bet offering a short price of 7/2.
While Sancho has expressed a desire to leave England, there is a lot to like at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats secured a shock Europa League berth for this season, meaning there will be a far greater strain on Regis Le Bris’ squad and, thus, plenty of opportunities for minutes at a high level.
What’s more, Sunderland’s wings are somewhat lacking in depth.
Chemsdine Talbi is the only truly established option on the right. On the left, meanwhile, Nilson Angulo is still adjusting to English football, and Romaine Mundle’s ability to consistently deliver at this level is questionable. Additionally, Simon Adingra’s future on Wearside is far from assured after he departed on a shock loan to Monaco in January, just months after arriving at the Stadium of Light.
Sancho is a veteran of 66 matches across Uefa’s top three club competitions, registering 11 goals and 12 assists and winning Europa League and Conference League titles along the way.
That sort of experience could be invaluable for Le Bris as he seeks to navigate unfamiliar waters. And for Sancho, this could be the backdoor he’s been searching for in terms of Premier League success and that unlikely England return.