Manchester United have been advised to forget about signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund this summer and instead sign Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale instead. Former Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood feels that United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward should be pulling the plug in the deal to sign Sancho, which has raged on all summer with lots of speculation and little action, instead signing Grealish and Bale.
It was suggested earlier this week that United reached a breakthrough in the deal for Sancho which meant that the club had agreed personal terms with the 20-year-old and also the agent fees that would be involved in the prospective deal. However, United and Borussia Dortmund have not yet agreed on a fee with the German club suggesting that the England winger will remain at the club for the 2020/21 season. United would have to pay €120 million (£108 million) for the player in one lump sum.
It is suggested that Woodward is not willing to spend more than £80 million and seems to be frustrated with the lack or progress, which would be down to his stubbornness and the fact that the Glazers are not willing to spend that kind of fee to land Sancho, which has been the story of the club especially since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. Sherwood speaking on Sky Sports, reported by The Express, talking about the Sancho situation and giving his own opinion, stated:
“I don’t think they need Jadon Sancho, I really don’t. If they have the money to go out and spend it on Jadon Sancho then you bring him in, you want as many good players as possible at the football club.
“But he is similar to what they have got. They’ve got Greenwood, Martial, Rashford and James – who played so much more than we expected him too in the early part of the season especially.
“All of them players we mentioned are like Sancho, they have pace and are a threat when teams play a high line against them.
“When teams drop deep against them that’s when they struggle. When Bruno Fernandes came in he could find the key to the door.”
United have been linked with Villa captain Grealish for the best part of the 2019/20 season during a period where the club had very little creativity. In January, United signed Bruno Fernandes and this summer signed Donny van de Beek to overcome that problem which is something Fernandes himself helped to solve. It is suggested that Grealish would cost £80 million this summer with Villa not wanting to sell, which will be a sticking point in any deal with Woodward pulling the strings. Sherwood stated:
“I would go for Jack Grealish. I think Jack can open the door and he is another [Bruno] Fernandes. He gives them a different quality which I think they need.
“I would also go and get Gareth Bale on a free transfer. Bale needs to come back to the Premier League and start playing football. I think he has got a lot to offer.
“If he goes to a huge club like Manchester United he will flourish for a couple of season.”
Sherwood also stated that United should opt for Bale on a free transfer, but he’s not going to be available as a free agent this summer as he still has two years remaining on his current contract, unless the Madrid club terminate his contract, which will probably cost them a lot of money. There has been a rumour of the Welshman being available for just £22 million also with a rumour coming from The Telegraph suggesting that the Madrid club would pay half of Bale’s wages which is a staggering £600,000 per week.
Last season, Grealish made a total of 41 appearances for Villa, scoring 10 goals and eight assists, playing in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, a competition that the club reached the final of, only to be beaten by Manchester City. Bale did not feature much for Real Madrid last season, making a total of 20 appearances, scoring three goals and two assists. He did suffer four different injuries, missing a total of 13 matches and is carrying a knee injury at this moment in time. I agree with Grealish but Bale would be another Alexis Sanchez sized mistake for United.
Written by John Walker
