Barcelona ‘to move’ for Man Utd duo in January transfer window

Barcelona are considering a surprise move for two Manchester United attackers, according to reports. The Red Devils have so far made a slow start to the season with three defeats in their opening six league matches and the headlines have largely been dominated by matters off the pitch which involve both Antony and Jadon Sancho.

However, in recent weeks the Red Devils have shown signs of improvement and they kept back-to-back clean sheets in victories over Burnley and Crystal Palace, which has prompted new signing Jonny Evans to publicly praise manager Erik Ten Hag. The Dutch manager is expected to have a busy time in the winter window and one of the stories that has dominated the news agenda in recent times is the future of £73m man Jadon Sancho.

The winger, who signed for the Red Devils in 2021, has recently been frozen out of the first team set-up by manager Ten Hag in a dispute over the player’s attitude in training. Sancho publicly tweeted that he was sick of being made “a scapegoat” by his coach, while Ten Hag has responded by banishing the player from the first team training sessions.

The England international was once viewed as one of the best young talents in world football and former club Borussia Dortmund are seen as one contender to re-sign their former man. However, the latest reports from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, also claim that Sancho could be a potential target for Barcelona as they aim to retain the La Liga title.

It is reported that Barcelona believe that the market will “once again offer players” as they previously saw in the summer when they were able to snap up to out of favour players in Joao Cancelo, who was in a stand-off with Pep Guardiola and Joao Felix, who was viewed as a fringe player at Atletico Madrid. The Catalan giants will be hopeful of signing Sancho for a cut-price fee and if they are successful they will hope to see a similar Sancho to the one at Borussia Dortmund who hit 17 goals and 16 assists in the league during the 2019/20 season.

Antony Martial is believed to be another fringe player on the radar for Barcelona, according to SportBible. The Frenchman arrived at Old Trafford in 2015 with a huge reputation but he has struggled for first team football in recent years under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag. The 27-year-old has made just four substitute appearances in the league this term, but he has shown signs of a potential redemption after a start and a goal in the Carabao Cup win against Crystal Palace.