Manchester United are preparing to finalise agent salary and fees before submitting an official offer to Borussia Dortmund for Jadon Sancho, according to the Daily Mail. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still retains the England winger as his number one target this summer to bolster the attacking line of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood. Over the past few weeks, talk of Sancho heading to Old Trafford this summer had quelled with his £108 million valuation still desired this summer.
Dortmund chief Michael Zorc last month suggested that United’s chances of signing the England winger has dissipated after the 10 August deadline to sign the player expired. The Daily Mail understands that United will make a move for the 20-year-old this summer but first of all they will sort out the salary and fees of intermediaries involved in the prospective deal before placing an official bid for the winger. Sancho’s agent is said to be Emeka Obasi of the Elite Project Group agency.
United have been the frontrunners to sign Sancho this summer with the Old Trafford club expected to be the only club that could spend this kind of transfer fee on a player this summer, despite suffering financially from the after effects of the coronavirus pandemic that stopped world football for around three months from mid-March. United have already signed Donny van de Beek from Ajax for £35.7 million this summer and are seeking to offload a number of players to make way for other arrivals this summer.
United have some work to do in order to create a team that can match the qualities of Liverpool and Manchester City to challenge for the Premier League title. The arrival of Van de Beek will go a long way to adding strength and depth in the midfield, also a capable player who can get into the box and create something for his teammates, which there is a lot of at the club right now, especially with the arrival of Bruno Fernandes during the January transfer window with 12 goals and eight assists in 22 appearances already in his short spell at the club.
Former United captain and Class of 92 graduate Gary Neville had urged the club to strengthen in five different areas this summer in order to help the club deal with the lives of Liverpool and City. Speaking to Sky Sports, Neville said:
“They have to sign a world-class centre back. For me, another midfield player.
“I also think a right winger, a centre forward and you have to look at left back because of Luke Shaw’s injuries and the fact he has obviously been in and out of the team in the last two or three years.
“So, I think there are definitely four or five players required and to not get three, I think it would be a problem because of what the other clubs are doing.”
Neville then talked about Chelsea strengthening this summer with Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva all arriving during the summer transfer window, also talking about Liverpool and City, which will mean that United could be under further pressure to sign more players this summer. Neville said:
“If Liverpool get Thiago, if Manchester City do what they are looking like they are going to do and with Chelsea doing what they’ve done, they are your competitors and they all look like they are improving and moving forward.
“I’m not sat here as a United fan thinking I desperately want him [Sancho]. It could be any number of players that become available that would improve United.
“If Harry Kane became available, and Tottenham fans will be saying why are you trying to get him out of Spurs again, but if he became available, he’d obviously improve United’s squad. So it doesn’t have to be a certain player.”
Written by John Walker
