'I'd sooner have Jadon Sancho' - Aston Villa transfer expert reacts as deal agreed

Re-signing Jadon Sancho on a free transfer would have been a better option than signing Alejandro Garnacho for Aston Villa.

That is the opinion of former senior Villa scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The 22-year-old has joined the Villans from Chelsea on loan with an conditional obligation to buy next summer, which is expected to be easily achievable.

Villa's total package for Garnacho is expected to surpass £40million, raising serious questions about the transfer.

The winger will, in part, replace the outgoing Morgan Rogers, who joined Chelsea in a club-record £117m deal last week.

Sancho remains a free agent following his exit from Manchester United this summer, after he spent the season on loan at Villa.

Bryan King questions Jadon Sancho decision

Interestingly, Sancho and Garnacho now share a career path. The former was at Man United before joining Chelsea on loan and then Villa.

The latter, similarly, was at Man United but joined Chelsea and now Villa in, to be, permanent deals.

It is easy to see why Unai Emery was not overly keen to sign Sancho back. The winger scored just one goal in 39 appearances across all competitions despite performing well for the most part.

What is not easy to see is why he wanted Garnacho. The Argentina international has a history of attitude issues and scored only one Premier League goal last season.

Yet Emery appears to believe that he can produce something special from the 22-year-old.

"Sancho's another player from the era of Erling Haaland. I saw him playing in Croatia in the Under-17 UEFA tournament and to be fair, Sancho was the man," King told Football Insider.

"You know, he really was an outstanding player in that tournament. Football-wise, I would sooner have had Sancho than Garnacho.

"I'd have made the point of trying to keep him at the football club. They've obviously chosen Garnacho because they both play in similar positions."

Where will Sancho end up?

Reports emerged in recent days of Sancho entering talks with Qatari side Al Rayyan.

There has reportedly been no contact between the parties since, however, with the winger still weighing up his options.

Premier League interest may well emerge, with the 26-year-old still clearly possessing plenty of talent.

Unlocking that huge potential inside Sancho could be an incredibly fruitful task, but it will be far easier said than done.