Jadon Sancho looks like he has played his last minutes in an Aston Villa shirt after the 2025/26 campaign ended with a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Sunday.

The winger is currently on loan from Manchester United and they do not have an option or obligation to make the deal permanent in the upcoming summer transfer window.

This means that the nine minutes he played off the bench in the 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final may be his last minutes for the club. What a way to go out!

Sancho only produced one goal and three assists in 39 appearances in all competitions for Unai Emery this season, including one goal and one assist in 13 matches in the Europa League.

The England international failed to offer regular quality at the top end of the pitch as either a scorer or a creator of goals on the right wing for the Villans.

Aston Villa pursuing deal to sign Serie A attacker

Bowing out with a European trophy is some way to end a loan spell, though, and Sancho can proudly say that he played his part with those 13 appearances in the competition and a cameo in the final.

The Villans, however, are now reportedly looking at a star who would arrive at the club as an upgrade on Sancho heading into the 2026/27 campaign.

According to the printed edition of Il Messaggero, via Roma Press, Aston Villa are one of the clubs interested in a deal to sign Roma winger Matias Soule in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Italian giants are seeking a fee of around £30m for the Argentina international and that the Villans would not have any financial issues when it comes to matching that price tag.

It adds that Villa are strongly pursuing a deal for the left-footed forward and it is now down to them to make an offer of £30m for Roma to accept in the coming weeks.

Premier League rivals Liverpool have also been linked with a move for the attacker this month, though, which means that the Villans may have to act swiftly if they want to get a deal done this summer.

How Matias Soule would be a dream upgrade on Jadon Sancho

Villa must now push to get this move over the line in the summer transfer window because he could arrive as a big upgrade on Sancho on the right flank.

As aforementioned, the Manchester United loanee provided little in the way of quality at the top end of the pitch during his time at Villa Park, particularly in the Premier League.

Whilst Sancho failed to score a single goal in 23 appearances in the top-flight for Villa, Soule caught the eye with his impressive performances in the Serie A.

The Argentine magician has the potential to offer significantly more than Sancho as both a scorer and a creator of goals from the right flank, as evidenced by his output in Italy this term, hitting double figures for combined goals and assists.

Soule also produced five goals and five assists in the Serie A during the 2024/25 campaign and scored 11 Serie A goals in the 2023/24 season, which shows that his current form is not a flash in the pan and that he has consistently delivered quality at the top end of the pitch.

The 23-year-old talent, who was described as a "devastating" winger by U23 scout Antonio Mango, has three seasons of delivering goals and assists at an impressive rate in one of Europe's major leagues.

Meanwhile, Sancho has not produced more than three goals or four assists in the Premier League in any of the past three seasons, as he has struggled since his move to United from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.

Therefore, Soule would arrive at the club as a dream upgrade on Sancho because he is three years younger, racked up significantly more impressive attacking numbers this season, and has been far more consistent in recent seasons at the top level.

That is why the Villans should not have any problem with splashing out £30m to sign the Argentine attacker to bolster Emery's squad ahead of next season's Champions League campaign.