Last summer, Manchester United arguably had their best transfer window in recent years as they addressed multiple key roles that needed improvement.
Andre Onana was brought in to replace the declining David De Gea, while Rasmus Hojlund looks set to become the long-term goalscorer for United.
However, the 2023/24 season has been disrupted by injuries and a lack of consistency on the field for Erik ten Hag's side, which most likely stems from a lack of momentum due to the absences.
With that in mind, there’s one player that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co must look to move on from who’s actually worth less than outcast Jadon Sancho, despite his quality.
Jadon Sancho’s value in 2024
This week, Sancho scored a goal in the Champions League to send his side into the quarterfinals, but it was for Borussia Dortmund rather than United.
The 23-year-old returned to his former club on loan in January after a fallout with Ten Hag, but in truth, Sancho had failed to perform anywhere close to the £73m fee United paid for the winger.
In 82 appearances for the Red Devils to date, Sancho has only scored 12 times and provided six assists, which is far from the form he showed at Dortmund prior to his arrival – notably contributing 36 goals and assists during the 2020/21 campaign in all competitions.
But despite underperforming and missing 17 matches for United, Sancho is still estimated to be worth £43m by CIES Football Observatory, which is far more than one individual that United must look to sell.
It's time for Man Utd to sell £34m ace who's now worth less than Lindelof
The United player is still contracted to the club until 2025.
ByTom LeverMar 14, 2024 Luke Shaw’s estimated worth at Man Utd
Luke Shaw is an extremely frustrating player to have in your side, because when he plays, he’s often one of the top performers, but his lack of availability means that his quality simply isn’t displayed enough.
Due to this, the left-back is a player that splits the opinion of the fanbase, with journalist Muhammad Butt labelling him “terrible” and football creator Liam Canning calling the England international “magnificent.”
This season, Shaw has been in and out of the team, starting just 12 Premier League matches out of a possible 28. Ten of those were in consecutive matches from November to February, after recovering from an early-season injury that saw him miss 16 matches.
However, the 28-year-old was forced off once again in the first half during the 2-1 win over Luton Town, which has caused him to miss five games since.
All these setbacks have led to the former Southampton man's estimated worth taking a hit, with the defender now valued at £17m by CIES, and, as you can see below, this makes him one of the lowest-valued players in the United team that have started more than ten times in the league this season – and £26m less than Sancho.
Luke Shaw
£17m
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
£13m
Raphael Varane
£13m
Harry Maguire
£13m
Jonny Evans
£4m
It’s fair to say that if Ten Hag could field his best starting lineup more times than not, then United would potentially still be in Europe and in a strong position for Champions League football next term, but evidently, that hasn’t been the case.
The Red Devils need reliable players who can perform to a high standard week in and week out while gaining the trust of the boss that they will be ready to start every game.
Unfortunately, it’s quite clear that Shaw simply cannot provide that, and at 28 years old, this injury cycle is likely to continue, hence the reports of Ratcliffe looking to sign a left-back in the summer, as per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.