£120m SANCHO SNATCH
Big-spending Ole winning race for Jadon
MANCHESTER UNITED are increasingly confident of landing England whizz-kid Jadon Sancho in a £120m deal this summer.
United are in pole position to bring Sancho back to the Premier League, with their domestic rivals balking at the fee wanted by Borussia Dortmund. Sancho left Manchester City for the German club in 2017 in a deal worth £8m and his sizzling performances since then have seen his value rocket. Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid, all want winger Sancho, who turned 20 yesterday. But United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward are
determined to get the deal done, despite the club record-breaking price.
The £89m United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba in 2016 remains the most the Reds have paid for a player, but the club are prepared to smash that for England ace Sancho.
There is a belief that signing Sancho, even at the exorbitant price quoted, would represent good business over time, given the player’s huge talent and age profile.
While Liverpool are said to be reluctant to pay the fee it would take to land Sancho, the player himself knows it would be difficult to break up their established front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
He is understood to favour a move to United, excited by Solskjaer’s youth-heavy revival of the team. He would fill their void on the right wing and link up with England team-mates, including Marcus Rashford.
United are said to have been encouraged by their early efforts to land Sancho, in what is shaping up to be a big summer.
The Reds also have Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Leicester’s James Maddison on their radar.
With the season looking likely to extend into June and July, United are also faced with the prospect of extending Odion Ighalo’s loan deal or making his move permanent and it is understood they are ready to pay a fee of about £15m to sign him full-time.