Manager make ambitious vow to secure Man United struggler’s spot at World Cup 2026

Unai Emery has disclosed his objective to get Jadon Sancho back in the England squad in time for the 2026 World Cup.

The forward completed a season-long loan move from Manchester United to Aston Villa on deadline day last week after spending the entire summer weighing up his options.

(Photo via AVFC’s official website)

Sancho had spent 2024/2025 with Chelsea , who were obligated to sign him permanently upon the culmination of his spell for £25 million.

However, they instead forked out a £5m penalty to bypass the clause and send him back to Manchester, where he immediately joined outcasts Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Tyrell Malacia to form a ‘bomb squad’ at Carrington.

Alas, the 25-year-old will now be hoping to reignite the most prolific version of himself in the West Midlands.

Sancho has not featured for England since 2021, making only one appearance since the Three Lions’ heartbreak at Wembley, which saw them lose the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy on their home turf.

He has earned 23 caps in total, making his senior bow at just 18 years old under Gareth Southgate in October 2018, and has returned three goals and seven assists.

His performances at Chelsea over the last year were not considered enough to see him recalled to the setup in Thomas Tuchel’s first matches since succeeding Southgate, meaning Sancho now has to convince an entirely new manager of his abilities to have even the slightest chance at representing his nation at the tournament next summer.

When pressed on the prospect of the on-loan winger being called up by Tuchel, Emery made it clear he would do his utmost to make it happen by granting Sancho an environment he can thrive in.

“Yes, of course, this is my objective, to get him back to his best – and if he does that, then he’ll come back to the national team,” said the Villa boss, as cited the The Mirror .

“Every player wants to be part of the national team. When he was at Borussia Dortmund, he performed fantastically. And he played with the national team 25 matches, more or less. Of course, he’s still young.

“He’s still hungry to show his capacity to play with his skills, his qualities, and hopefully we can exploit here, again, his best.”