What next for Man Utd exiles Sancho and Antony?

Two contracted Manchester United players embraced shortly after the final whistle blew in Wroclaw after Chelsea defeated Real Betis 4-1 in the Conference League final.

Both at the age of 25 and with uncertain futures, Jadon Sancho and Antony Sancho have a promising season.

Sancho, who signed for Chelsea on loan last summer, added his third goal to their tally of 10 games to bring them their first trophy since February 2022.

With nine goals and five assists in 26 games, Antony has transformed Real Betis’ season since moving to Spain on a loan deal in January. Under new coach Carlo Ancelotti, Antony looks forward to returning to the national team despite the Brazilian’s disappointing final result on Wednesday.

Chelsea agreed to pay a fee of around £20-25 million if they wanted to finish above 14th in the Premier League or have to waive a £5 million clause to exit the deal.

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca said, “We’ll talk about it with the club from now on,” when asked about Sancho’s future following Wednesday’s Conference League final. If we finish fourth, Jadon [Sancho] is in charge, and if we win tonight, it will be the same.

It’s typical to experience ups and downs during a season. It is a component of the game.

After returning just two goals in his first 31 games, it became clear that Chelsea would not have paid a loan fee and would only have paid half of Sancho’s reported £300,000-a-week wages, something that minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe revealed in an interview with BBC Sport on March 10th.

No decision was made prior to Wednesday’s final, but senior officials have privately refrained from using the £5 million get-out clause if the loan did not work out. Reports in the lead-up to the game suggested that the forward might have a better chance of returning to Manchester, though only temporarily.

Sancho’s loan agreement expiring on June 30th makes it impossible for him to complete the tournament, which starts on June 14th. Sancho is eligible to represent Chelsea at the Club World Cup.

Antony’s impact in Seville has been so great that Joaquin and fellow Betis winger Isco have made up jokes about kidnapping him.

Betis has won 13 of his 25 matches since he joined, drawing eight, and losing just four. With only 25 minutes left in Poland, the club was on the verge of a Europa League spot thanks to finishing sixth in La Liga, which they had won before Chelsea’s comeback, leading 1-0.

The real issue, according to Simon Stone, BBC Sport’s chief football news correspondent, is the price tag associated with a permanent sale.

“The club has no way of getting the £81,3m they paid for him,” it is quite obvious. United still need to sell him for £32.52 million for amortization purposes because he still has two more years left on his first five-year contract.

Guillem Balague, a Spanish football expert and BBC Sport columnist, once said, “Antony is already a hero in Betis.” However, Manchester United won’t make a sale over the sum of 50 million euros (£42 million). Although Betis will reside in Europe, Antony should be there, in my opinion.

Both the club and the player believe that Old Trafford’s future is “impossible.”

Antony described the time as “very difficult days for me” and claimed that he has found happiness once more and that his family life has been impacted by his circumstances in England.

Meanwhile, Manchester is close to announcing Matheus Cunha’s transfer from Wolves for £62,5 million.