It has been said for some time that Manchester United will try to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund this summer. However, a fee of £100 million or more will be needed to pry the 20-year-old away from the German club, which may be more the United could spend on one player this summer in light of the financial problems caused by the coronavirus.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will obviously try to do all he can to get his number one target this summer but has options to take if the club are unable to get their man, which is a possibility. There are currently reports that link Real Madrid to the former Manchester City academy player, stating a £105 million feee for the player.
Many might suggest United would be frugal with the other options to Sancho but if a team is not able to get their number one target, there is little point in making do with what they have as that is the reason why the attack has not been effective, especially on the right-wing, which has been a problem position at the club for some time.
One of the players United have on their radar is Thiago Almada, a player who in his native Argentina is labelled at the next Lionel Messi, which might be going too far as he would need to be a generational talent. However, he is a player growing in stature and at just 19 has the world ahead of him. Almada plays for Velez Sarsfield.
This season, before the coronavirus pandemic suspended world football, the 19-year-old had made a total of 25 appearances for his club, scoring five goals and two assists. Granted it is nothing like the form of Sancho but he is a player growing in stature so could develop similarly to the England winger. He is wanted by several clubs though.
Another player on the radar is David Brooks, who currently plays for Bournemouth. Granted, because of an ankle injury, which resulted in ankle surgery, the Welshman has not played club football during the 2019/20 season and probably will not for the remainder of the season. There is a possibility that he injury could take him into next season too.
The third player on Solskjaer’s radar is Rabbi Matondo, who currently plays for Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. The 19-year-old is a full international for Wales despite being born in Liverpool, making four caps for his country so far. The Bundesliga is now back in action, being the first top European league to return after the coronavirus pandemic.
This season, Matondo has made a total of 18 appearances for the club, scoring one goal. Schalke have fallen a long way this season, not winning a league match since earlier in the year, slipping into tenth place in the league after four match weeks since the return just over three weeks ago. Matondo has a lot of talent but may not be at the same level as Sancho.
It is clear that Solskjaer has other options – all clubs need other options if their first choice target cannot be attained. None of these names will be repped by Football Twitter, not that it is anything to suggest they are wrong for the club. Football Twitter, in most instances, is wrong for clubs as most of these fans knowledge comes from a computer game.
