Harry Diamond
Borussia Dortmund ‘would not say no’ to Manchester United’s plan to finance a move for Jadon Sancho as the winger’s big-money switch to the Premier League seemingly edges closer.
Sancho’s future has been one of the stories of the summer with the England international having emerged as Manchester United‘s number one transfer target, the 20-year-old establishing himself as one of world football’s most exciting talents following another stand-out season in the Bundesliga last term.
The England international scored 17 goals and provided a further 16 assists in Germany’s top tier last season, and reports last week suggested a return to English football was moving closer for the former Manchester City youngster as cross-city rivals United make progress in negotiations with Dortmund.
Reports last week suggested Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are prepared to offer an initial fee of £60m for Sancho, though the deal will be a new British transfer-record with add-ons and instalments set to take the figure past the £89m fee United paid to re-sign Paul Pogba from Juventus four years ago.
Update @Sanchooo10: @BVB expect the club @ManUtd to pay the transfer fee of 120 million euros in installments. That would also be okay for @bvb. But: the offer must be submitted by august 10th @BILD_Sport
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) August 3, 2020
According to Bild, such a proposal would be acceptable to Dortmund who are prepared to sanction Sancho’s sale this summer, though the Bundesliga side are keen for any bid to be lodged by August 10 – the date scheduled for Lucien Favre’s side to return to group training.
The report says that Dortmund would be willing to accept €70m (£63m) upfront, with a further €30m (£27m ) in 2021 and the remaining €20m (£18m)in 2020, the German side having stood firm on their €120m valuation despite the economic downturn.
Dortmund are under no financial pressure to sell and have refused to lower their €120m asking price for Sancho despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, though their willingness to accept the fee in instalments means a Premier League return for the star has now moved closer.
United now have a week to conclude the deal before Dortmund fly out for a pre-season training camp in Switzerland, the club insisting Sancho will remain at the Westfalenstadion for a further season if he is part of that travelling party on August 10.
Smalling set for Manchester United return next week with no agreement over loan extension
See also – Our Premier League team of the year for the 2019/20 season: Who makes the cut?