Erik ten Hag
Jadon Sancho has refused to apologise to Erik ten Hag over his actions on social media aimed at the Manchester United boss. David Klein/Reuters

Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho could reportedly return to Borussia Dortmund during the ongoing winter transfer window.

Dortmund and Manchester United are currently in negotiations over a loan deal for Sancho, who has not played for the Red Devils for over four months. The talks are "already advancing to key stages" as Sancho is keen to re-join Dortmund and the Bundesliga club wants the deal to close "very soon", according to football journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The discussions are around the loan fee that Dortmund will have to pay, while Manchester United will be asked to pay a part of Sancho's wages.

It is understood that any deal might see Manchester United paying a significant portion of Sancho's salary, given the huge increase he received when he signed for the Old Trafford side for £73 million in 2021. Sancho's current wages are more than £300k-a-week at Manchester United.

Manchester United recently agreed a loan deal with Eintracht Frankfurt for Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek. The deal saw the German club take on the majority of the midfielder's wages. But that isn't the case in Sancho's possible loan deal, with Dortmund hoping the Red Devils would pay as much as two-thirds of the player's pay packet, reported ESPN.

Jadon Sancho's exile at Man Utd

Sancho has not played since he slammed his Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag on social media, calling him a liar in early September.

Ten Hag did not include the English winger in Manchester United's matchday squad for their trip to Arsenal in September.

"Jadon, on his performance in training, was not selected. You have to reach a level at Manchester United every day and we can make choices in the front line. So for this game, he was not selected", Ten Hag had said in an interview.

These comments from the Dutch boss did not go down very well with Sancho, who then took to social media to retaliate. Sancho responded with a now-deleted statement on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, saying he had been made a "scapegoat" at Old Trafford.

"Please don't believe everything you read! I will not allow people saying things that is (sic) completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won't go into, l've been a scapegoat for a long time which isn't fair!" added Sancho in the deleted post on X.

Sancho refuses to apologise Ten Hag

Following this drama, when Ten Hag demanded an apology, the 23-year-old player refused to do so. As a result, Ten Hag banished Sancho from the first-team squad. Since then the England international has been training away from the first team, with no end in sight to his exile.

Sancho, who has been training with United's under-18s, made three substitute appearances in August before having the public fallout with Ten Hag.

It has also been reported in the English media that even though Sancho has attracted interest from Juventus and RB Leipzig, he believes Dortmund would be an ideal environment to find his best form again. The left winger had a great run in three seasons at Signal Iduna Park, where he scored 50 goals and provided 64 assists in 137 appearances in all competitions.

Dortmund, fifth in the Bundesliga, are believed to have made Sancho and a left-back their priority January targets.

Manchester United, meanwhile, are having a nightmare 2023-24 campaign. The Red Devils are placed eighth in the Premier League table with 31 points and are 14 points behind leaders Liverpool FC.

The Old Trafford side has also been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League as well. Ten Hag and Co are next in action on Jan. 8 when they take on Wigan Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.