Peter Henry
Manchester United and their Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward look set for more failure in the transfer market this summer, with the Old Trafford outfit set to end their attempts to sign Jadon Sancho.
Despite their pursuit of the highly-rated 20-year-old dominating the headlines for the last couple of months, Manchester United are yet to make a bid for the winger, and according to the Mirror, they have now decided to abandon their attempt to sign the England international until next summer.
The Red Devils feel that both Dortmund’s £108 million price tag and Sancho’s wage demands of £300,000-a-week are unrealistic amid the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dortmund have always remained steadfast in their valuation of the player and the stated August 10th deadline for any deal to be done. However, while the English media has regularly tried to paint the picture of a club simply embarking on a hard stance to extract as much money upfront from United as possible before eventually selling, well placed sources in Germany insist the club genuinely want to keep Sancho at the Westfalenstadion for at least one more year.
Just a few weeks ago Sancho wearing a Man United shirt looked like a formality, but with the England international seemingly unwilling to hand in a transfer request to force through a move, a deal looks less likely than ever.
“Dortmund want Jadon Sancho to stay, this is not a poker game, 100%”! @JanAageFjortoft gives Jadon Sancho to Manchester United update!
? full interview – https://t.co/2CYYPf3eAZ #mufc pic.twitter.com/7bCYQQdGdM
— Terry Flewers (@terryflewers) August 21, 2020
United are said to now want to wait until next season to try sign the former Man City youth player as they believe that the transfer market and wages paid to top players will reset due to the economic effects of the pandemic. However, this type of approach also means other top clubs like Liverpool and Real Madrid could enter the race in 12 months time, and the harsh reality is there are other top clubs who can realistically offer Sancho a better chance of challenging for the games biggest trophies.
Sadly for United supporters, failing to land a player after a very public pursuit has become all too familiar in the years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, and will surely once again lead to stinging criticism for Woodward and increase calls for the club to appoint a Director of Football – no matter how much the clubs PR machine tries to spin things.
If the latest reports prove true it will leave United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer massively frustrated that he has been unable to land his primary target and the Norweigan coach may be about to learn the hard way why David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, and Jose Mourinho all claimed to have been badly let down by Woodward’s dithering in the transfer market.
Read – Picking a combined Bayern Munich and PSG XI
Read Also – Tweets of the Week: Maguire’s arrest, Conte’s kerfuffle and Koeman’s appointment