Jadon Sancho explains decision to join Aston Villa after rejecting other clubs

Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho has opened up on his decision to join Aston Villa after rejecting offers from elsewhere.

On Monday evening, it was confirmed that United and Villa had agreed a loan deal for Sancho.

Sancho’s future had been the subject of intense speculation all summer after Chelsea opted against the option to make his stay at Stamford Bridge a permanent one. The forward spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan with the Blues but an agreement could not be found for him to continue.

There was interest in Sancho, although it has been claimed he turned down most of them.

AS Roma submitted a bid for a permanent transfer, which United were prepared to accept. However, they failed to convince Sancho to give the green light for a deal to get over the line.

Roma director Frederic Massara confirmed as much , noting that Sancho lacked the motivation to join their ranks.

Besiktas also made strong advances for the England international but he was equally unimpressed with them and insisted he was not keen on a move to Turkey.

Speaking for the first time as a Villa player, Sancho revealed that talks with Unai Emery ultimately convinced him that the Birmingham club was the best option for him.

The 25-year-old told club media, “First of all, when I spoke to the manager, he gave me the belief and the confidence and he showed me the plan he had of achieving this year inspired me.”

“He definitely persuaded me and I can’t wait to work under him.”

Asked about potentially entering his prime while at Villa Park, Sancho answered, “I believe I’m ready to move into the peak years of my career, having that experience and playing for such huge clubs. Hopefully I can bring some of that experience here at Villa and I can’t wait.”

On his goals for the campaign, Sancho explained, “As a player and especially as a team, we have to be achieving big things. We have to be looking towards that, and hopefully I can help the team to achieve some of those goals.”

“I’ve got individual goals, but my main goal is for the team. Achieving something as a team is much more special than individually.”

“I feel like all players have individual goals, but the team always comes first. I’ll be looking to achieve goals with the team first.”

– Tuesday, 2 September 2025

Sancho shared that he consulted Marcus Rashford about Villa, with the Carrington graduate describing the club’s family-like atmosphere.

Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images

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