United will imminently submit their first – and only – bid for Sancho
After months and months of speculation, Manchester United’s latest tediously drawn-out transfer pursuit is, one way or another, close to an end.
Jadon Sancho remains a Borussia Dortmund player. Though there’s a very good chance this will still be the case when the transfer window closes on October 5, United are reportedly poised to submit their first bid to the German club.
Dortmund are widely reported to have asked for £108m for the England international at the start of the summer, a fee United are believed to have said is unrealistic given the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic. The Bundesliga club had also stipulated that a deal must be agreed by August 10, a deadline which has long since passed. Despite this, talks are understood to have continued for the last six weeks, with United quietly confident of bringing the 20-year-old back to England.
Now, according to the Mirror, United will imminently make their first – and only – offer. The Premier League club are willing to pay £90m to secure Sancho’s services. The initial outlay will be £75m with the remaining £15m made up in add-ons. United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward will not be open to negotiation, the report claims, meaning this is a take-it-or-leave-it offer.
The likelihood of Dortmund accepting such a deal appears remote. Several important figures at Dortmund, including sporting director Michael Zorc, have insisted that they meant what they said about the August 10 deadline. Going back on that would represent a dramatic u-turn, even if Zorc does appear to have previous for doing precisely that with big transfers. With the transfer window set to close in a couple of weeks, it also leaves Dortmund with a limited amount of time to recruit a replacement for Sancho.
United have so far had an underwhelming transfer window. Donny van de Beek remains their only signing, with the club struggling to move on a number of surplus players from their first team squad to help raise funds for new additions. Alex Telles appears to be United’s most likely next arrival, but even that is shrouded in uncertainty. The Porto left-back is reportedly putting pressure on his club to lower their asking price so he can complete a move to Old Trafford.
