Jadon Sancho SNUBS Unai Emery after embarrassing Aston Villa call

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 26: Jadon Sancho of Aston Villa passes the ball whilst under pressure from Matheus Nunes of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Manchester City at Villa Park on October 26, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images).

Jadon Sancho cut a frustrated figure following an Unai Emery call in Aston Villa’s game against Manchester City.

The Villans took the lead early in the first half when Matty Cash thrashed home the opener past Gianluigi Donnarumma from a well-worked corner routine.

But the Midlands side didn’t have it all their own way, as in-form attacker Emi Buendia was forced off the field with an injury just 10 minutes after the goal.

Jadon Sancho showed unhappiness with Unai Emery call

Sancho almost beat Gianluigi Donnarumma in the short amount of time he was allowed on the pitch (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Argentinian had to be replaced, and Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho was sent on in his place, for only his second Premier League appearance under Emery since joining in the summer.

Sancho gave a solid, if not spectacular, account of himself, almost beating Donnarumma with two shots in quick succession in and around the six-yard box.

28' - ON ➡️73' - OFF ⬅️A first for Jadon Sancho - subbed on and subbed off in a Premier League match. pic.twitter.com/ewuVTmJEQJOctober 26, 2025

But it was not enough for Emery, who took the embarrassing step of substituting Sancho back off in the 74th minute – a fear of players only matched by being hooked in the first half.

It clearly didn’t go down well with the 25-year-old, who was shown slowly walking off the field, refusing to shake the hands of Ross Barkley and Evann Guessand entering the field.

Sancho then seemed to try and avoid Emery, who raced over to the former England international, looking apologetic for his decision.

With his contract at Old Trafford expiring at the end of this season, this is not how the winger would have wanted to kick off his loan spell.

But questions may also be asked of Villa themselves, who are said to be spending a significant amount to have Sancho at the club, with Emery apparently retaining little faith in him.

Sancho was up against some familiar faces from his time in Manchester City's academy (Image credit: Getty Images)

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, while Villa Park worked perfectly for Marcus Rashford as a stepping stone to his current spell with Barcelona, it doesn’t seem to be working out quite the same for Sancho, who finds himself in a remarkably similar situation.

It is still very early days, and Emery will want to keep Sancho on side with a long way to run in his loan deal yet, but it is not the ideal start for either party.

Questions remain around whether the winger can get his career back on track after showing supreme talent at Borussia Dortmund, and this scenario will not add anything positive to that debate.