Man Utd snubbed for Aston Villa by €60m Sancho successor

Carlo Garganese

• 16 Jan 2024 04:42 CST
• 3 min read

One of Manchester United’s top targets to replace Jadon Sancho this summer would prefer to join Aston Villa.

According to Todofichajes, Man Utd have lined up Real Sociedad winger Mikel Oyarzabal to replace Sancho at the end of the season.

Oyarzabal has long been a target for Man Utd, having established himself as one of the best wingers in La Liga in recent years.

The tricky inverted winger is seen as the ideal replacement for Sancho, who United wish to sell permanently this summer following his January loan move back to Borussia Dortmund.

United are also considering selling Antony, who is enduring a disastrous season with no goals and no assists on the right wing

Oyarzabal, meanwhile, has been very productive for Sociedad. He has scored 92 goals in 324 games since debuting for the first team in 2015-16.

He suffered a serious ACL injury in 2022 which ruled him out of the World Cup but he has since returned to form. He has been capped 26 times by Spain, scoring seven goals. He impressed at Euro 2020 as Spain made it all the way to the semi-finals. He scored in the match against Croatia, and also found the net in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Cup final defeat to France.

However, Todofichajes reports that Aston Villa are also interested in signing Oyarzabal.

Villa manager Unai Emery is a big fan of the player, and indeed Oyarzabal has made it clear that he would prefer to join them over United.

Oyarzabal would give priority to Aston Villa if he received official offers from both clubs.

The 26-year-old has a release clause of €60 million in his contract, making him an enticing option for both United and Villa.

He has made 24 appearances this season in all competitions, scoring nine goals.