Dortmund tell United they must complete Sancho deal by Monday
continue to centre on the structure of that prospective transfer, including the number of instalments and add-ons Dortmund will receive for the 20-year-old, on whom they stand to make a huge profit just three years after signing him from Manchester City for £8 million.
Dortmund have been pushing United to complete a deal before Monday so they can prepare for the new Bundesliga season free of distractions, but the Old Trafford hierarchy have always regarded that as an artificial deadline.
A deal could be concluded before then but, while United’s finances have been boosted significantly after securing Champions League qualification for next season, the club have been badly hit by the Covid-19 crisis and they want to make sure that what seems likely to be a club-record fee is appropriately structured. United’s record outlay is the £89million they paid Juventus for midfielder Paul Pogba in 2016.
Some of the add-ons under discussion include payments based on Champions League success or Sancho winning the Ballon d’or.
Although the framework of personal terms with Sancho has been discussed and is not expected to be a problem, United are mindful of the issues Sanchez’s salary created in the dressing room.
The heavily incentivised contract Sancho’s England team-mate, Marcus Rashford, signed last year is likely to have been used as a benchmark.
Sancho is Solskjaer’s top summer transfer target and the United manager has been tracking the player for more than 18 months –
The Daily Telegraph first reported the extent of United’s interest in March last year – and the Norwegian believes he would be a valuable addition to what is becoming one of Europe’s most exciting young attacks.
United already have Anthony Martial, 24, Rashford, 22, and Mason Greenwood, 18. Bruno Fernandes, who has had a transformative effect on United’s team since his £47 million arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January, is 25.
Between them, Martial, Rashford, Greenwood, Fernandes and Sancho have scored 106 club goals this season. Martial and Rashford have each scored 22, Greenwood 17 and Fernandes has 10 for United in addition to 15 for Sporting. Sancho scored 20 goals and claimed 18 assists in all competitions for Dortmund this term.