Manchester United’s bid for Jadon Sancho is full of plenty of intrigue.
The England international seemed inevitable to move away from Borussia Dortmund this summer, and there have been a number of reports surrounding a possible move to Old Trafford.
Many reports in the English press last week suggested that the deal was nearing completion, with The Sun even claiming that the No.7 shirt had been put to one side for the winger.
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that a £90 million deal was close to being agreed, but Sky Sports reported on Wednesday that the deal had hit something of a snag.
Sky claimed that United were determined not to be “bullied”, with Dortmund asking for £108m for the former Manchester City youth star.
United are said to believe that such an asking price is excessive and it now appears that they face a race against time.
Reports in the German press have often claimed that Dortmund have set the English giants a deadline of August 10th to complete a deal.
Sport Witness carries a report from Bild insisting that the deadline is legitimate; it’s the date that Dortmund are set to travel to a pre-season training camp in Switzerland.
Bild insist that United have to pay the £108m by Monday or risk seeing Sancho sign a new contract at Signal Iduna Park.
Sancho currently earns €6m-per-year, which comes to £5.4m, or £104,285-per-week. And Dortmund are willing to up that to €10m (£9m), or £173,809-per-week.
That’s a hefty increase, and means that United are under the gun if they want to get this deal over the line.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This feels like it is coming to a head.
And there is a very simple way for United to get this done: Pay the money.
Sancho has a contract with Dortmund until 2022 and the club are under no financial pressure to sell.
It makes sense that they are driving a hard bargain for a player who has scored 20 goals and registered 20 assists this season, and they have placed the ball firmly in United’s court.
If they are not willing to reach the price that the German club are demanding, then it makes sense for him to be offered a new contract.
Signing that offers fee protection for the Bundesliga club for the coming transfer windows, too.
For United, the task is clear; get the deal done.