Next year may be too late to secure Sancho
THERE is a sense of worry as United continue their plans to reinforce their squad in the summer transfer window.
The Reds began casting their eye over potential recruits long ago, but any initial plans they might have had will have been affected by the financial implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ed Woodward has reiterated it won’t be ‘business as usual,’ while conflicting reports have suggested United could spend as much as 300m euro.
Although the Reds have improved markedly in 2020, they still need to spend to become title challengers again. However, the club’s record spend for permanent arrivals in a summer window is around the £150m mark, so even if this window had been a normal one it would have been a surprise to see them fork out excessively.
Such financial uncertainty makes for an interesting landscape ahead of the summer, with many clubs under pressure to raise funds by sanctioning player sales, while others are desperate to hang onto their stars in the knowledge that replacing them will be an immense challenge.
In particular there is even more uncertainty around the attainability of United’s No.1 target Jadon Sancho, with Borussia Dortmund still believing they will not lose the England international at the end of the season.
“We had a few issues with Jadon in the last week, but we all cleared them up,” Dortmund’s head of football Sebastian Kehl said over the weekend. “He played a great game afterwards and does a good job. He is incredibly important.
“At the moment we continue to assume that he will play and stay at Borussia Dortmund next season.”
Throughout the transfer saga the Bundesliga club have remained adamant they want to keep the 20-yearold, although there is a chance they are posturing to put them in a strong negotiating position.
It is true Dortmund possess stronger financial might than many clubs in European football, but their economic muscle is still dwarfed by United’s.
Yet there is no other player who satisfies United’s transfer criteria quite like Sancho – and Dortmund know that.
The truth is they will likely sell if an appropriate offer comes in, but it will still almost certainly take a club-record fee to lure him to Old Trafford.
It presents a particularly tricky scenario for United to tackle and raises a dilemma which will put their very trust in his abilities to the test.
United could return to sign Sancho next summer once the market has had time to settle and the youngster has one year less left on his contract, but if he impresses for England at the European Championship next year his valuation could rocket.
By waiting a year the Reds might not only end up paying more for their priority transfer target, but they will have to endure another season without a world-class option on the right wing.
Recruiting a cheaper alternative to Sancho would then present another issue if they were to go back in for him next summer.
United will have to break the bank if they are to sign Sancho from Dortmund this year, but waiting another year in the hope of completing the deal for less could actually make the task even tougher to achieve.