Sancho may waste half a year at Manchester United without playing, with no football action in 2025! Aston Villa could be his last lifeline.

Italian outlet "Slow Motion" reports that the worst-case scenario for Manchester United is probably unfolding, with Sancho potentially stuck at the club, wasting the remaining half of 2025. He won’t play but will continue to receive a weekly salary exceeding £200,000, and United must arrange training sessions to avoid breaching English labor regulations.

It is said that Sancho’s likelihood of featuring in 2025 is diminishing. Although he knows staying at United means no playing time under Ruben Amorim, he might still choose to remain at Carrington after the summer transfer window closes. Earlier, the 25-year-old English winger rejected a transfer offer from Roma.

Reportedly, Sancho’s failure to secure a transfer is closely tied to financial issues. He refuses to significantly lower his wages at Manchester United, which caused his permanent move to Chelsea to collapse as the Blues were unwilling to meet his salary demands. Subsequent clubs like Juventus and Roma have also struggled to overcome this obstacle.

Sancho turned down Roma not only because his agent’s €11 million commission demand was unmet but also due to his American rapper girlfriend, Savvy. "Big Joe" might opt to finish his contract at United and then move on a free transfer to Major League Soccer, living in his girlfriend’s hometown.

It is said that Roma’s coach Gasperini still wants to make a final effort to sign Sancho and is expected to contact his agent within hours, but the chances of Sancho changing his mind are low.

Gasperini appears somewhat helpless about this. When asked about Sancho at Friday’s Serie A pre-match press conference, he replied: "If you have his phone number, just call him... You all know everything; I don’t know the current profit margin, but we never beg anyone, this applies to everyone. Sancho is a possibility, and we are a possibility for him. Coming to Roma is a great opportunity, but if he refuses, then he can stay where he is."

Roma’s sporting director Frederic Massara has closed the door on Sancho’s transfer: "I already discussed this last week. The key issue is the player’s motivation. To come to Roma, one must have extraordinary motivation. I think there’s nothing more to add on this matter."

Now, Serie A title favorites Inter Milan and Premier League’s Aston Villa might be the last hope to resolve the Sancho saga. "TEAMtalk" reports Inter is interested in signing him, but the "Nerazzurri" have yet to take concrete steps.

Aston Villa inquired about Sancho during negotiations with Manchester United over Emiliano Martinez’s transfer. Initially, both clubs planned to include Sancho in the Martinez deal, but they soon realized it was too complicated, so the two transfers became separate. The Argentine goalkeeper has agreed to join United, pending club agreement. However, Sancho’s situation depends not on United or Villa but on what he wants to do personally.

Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said: "Manchester United and Villa will continue negotiations over Sancho until the summer window closes. This is a separate deal from Martinez’s, but both transfers are being discussed together, as they hope to finalize them simultaneously. Sancho must decide his future today; otherwise, he will only have options outside the top five European leagues."

Of course, even after September 1, Sancho still has ways to leave United, since the Turkish Süper Lig and Saudi Pro League transfer windows remain open longer. However, Sancho has consistently rejected offers from clubs in these leagues this summer. A source close to Sancho admits that staying at United next season cannot be ruled out, even though the club hasn’t assigned him a squad number.

Sancho has plenty of experience with not playing. In the six months after falling out with Ten Hag, he was not only excluded from first-team training but also barred from eating in the first-team dining hall at Carrington.