Manchester United’s transfer plans seem to be commencing a week after the summer transfer window opened as the Premier League season came to a close. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s number one target this summer was Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho and it looks like things could soon start falling into place. The Bundesliga club have been stick to their guns for months now, regurgitating their desire for their €120 million (£108 million) price tag to be met in order to sell the player this summer.
German newspaper Bild started with reports on Monday suggesting that United will pay the fee for the player and that Dortmund understand that instalments would need to be paid, which Christian Falk, the head of football for Sports Bild has reported. This seems to be positive news ahead of the German club’s deadline which has been set for the 10 August which in a week today. Former footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft backed up these reports, stating that United have offered an initial €70 million with two further instalments; €30 million and €20 million to be paid later.
The best part of these reports that have come out today is that Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that United and Dortmund are now on ‘advanced talks’ regarding Sancho, which is great news and certainly suggests that the reports from yesterday, which I did not believe, were not true with United set to ignore the 10 August deadline to sign Sancho this summer which in my opinion, would have angered Dortmund and led to discussions being cancelled with no chance of United getting a better deal for the player, which if true, would have served them right.
Obviously, the deadline of the 10 August for United to get a deal done for Sancho is there to ensure the German clubs preparations for the new season are not hampered with elongated transfer talks and speculation surrounding the 20-year-old English winger. This deadline would also serve as giving the club time to find a replacement for the winger ahead of the start of the new Bundesliga season, which will commence on Friday 18 September 2020.
One player that has been linked to Borussia Dortmund is former United forward Memphis Depay who currently plays for Lyon. This rumours has been reported by The Sun. Dortmund will end up finding a replacement. They will probably have known that United would be making a move for the 20-year-old this summer so will have had plenty of time to get a list of individuals to replace the player. It need not be a young player either as the club has signed 17-year-old Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City this summer, so that could add to the excitement for the supporters.
One thing is for sure, this seems to be heading in a positive direction for United with a week to go before Dortmund’s deadline to sign Sancho has passed. Transfers can be completed very quickly if both clubs have agreement. United may need to learn their lesson that whilst they might have financial might, clubs will not be lining up to give them a discount based on the fact they club has paid massive transfer fees for flops in the past seven years. United will have to meet the demands they are faced with to better their squad quality this summer, which is important.
Written by John Walker
