Chelsea will have to pay Manchester United a £5 million penalty clause if they opt against signing Jadon Sancho permanently at the end of the season.
Sancho, who will turn 25 on Tuesday, joined Chelsea on a season-long loan last summer.
The deal includes an obligation for the west London club to buy Sancho for between £20 million and £25 million as they long as they finish in the top 14 of the Premier League, which they are firmly expected to do.
However, Chelsea have an effective “get out” in the agreement that would permit them to pull out of plans to sign Sancho if they pay United a £5 million penalty.
Chelsea could still sign Sancho permanently at the end of the season but they have the option to back out of a deal, albeit at a premium, should they wish to do so.
The Stamford Bridge outfit are understood to be in the market for a winger this summer although there have been reports that relates more to the uncertainty over Mykhailo Mudryk’s availability than anything else.
The Ukraine winger was provisionally suspended by the FA in December after testing positive for a banned substance. In a statement, Mudryk denied knowingly breaking any rules.
Sancho started brightly at Chelsea but has struggled to maintain that encouraging early form. He has managed just two goals and one assist in his last 23 Premier League games.
Chelsea are fourth in the league, a point ahead of Manchester City, and face Tottenham in their next league outing at Stamford Bridge on April 3.
United are hoping to offload a series of players this summer to raise funds to reinvest in their squad. They have earmarked the sale of Sancho as part of that while other attackers such as Marcus Rashford and Antony could also potentially leave.
Sancho has endured a troubled time at Old Trafford since joining from Borussia Dortmund for £73 million in 2021 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager.
He had a falling-out with former manager Erik ten Hag that led to him being exiled from the first team. There was a rapprochement of sorts last summer before Sancho joined Chelsea on loan. Ten Hag was then sacked in the October by United.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the United co owner, name-checked Sancho this month when he talked about players his Ineos regime had inherited and the club still owed money on.
