The structure of Manchester ‘s proposed latest bid for Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho would see the English club pay more up front with the rest in achievable add-ons, with the current initial proposal presupposed by the Red Devils to be £67m up front plus around £8m in add-ons.
Despite United’s improved bid for Sancho, he is now believed to be actually worth more than the £75m in total, including add-ons, that the Red Devils are offering.
In a sudden déjà vu turnaround that threatens to be history repeating itself, the latest news emerging report that Manchester United have been told yet again in no uncertain terms – in a repeat of last season’s nightmarish transfer wrangle episode – to meet Dortmund’s ‘non-negotiable’ valuation for Sancho by the middle of next month.
Like in last season, the Manchester club have again also been set a deadline to meet Borussia Dortmund’s asking price for Sancho with the Bundesliga club refusing to budge from their £82million valuation of Sancho after United made their opening bid, according to reports from Germany.
Apparently the Bundesliga club are also insisting on bonuses on top of the initial transfer fee, and want the England winger’s future sorted by the middle of next month. German newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten claims Dortmund’s price tag of £82m plus bonuses is ‘non-negotiable’.
Meanwhile the 21-year-old is said to have already agreed personal terms on a move to Old Trafford, but this new deadline set doesn’t give the Old Trafford top brass long to strike a deal with Dortmund.
And the situation smacks of last summer, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were quoted £108m for Sancho and told to make a satisfactory offer by August 10.
The Red Devils had initially thought that their decision to wait looked like it might be about to pay off last month when Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc revealed the club had a “gentleman’s agreement” with Sancho that he could leave this summer “under certain conditions”.
This then sparked an expectation that United would be able to land the player at a reduced rate, hence the much lower figure of £65m suddenly cropping up.
But the latest revelation indicates that the two clubs are still some way apart in their respective valuations of Sancho. And this time around, Solskjaer and his transfer team appear to have been given even less time to agree a deal than they were last summer, as Dortmund look to crank up the pressure.
It has also been noted that while United are reported to have made an opening bid, the claim that Dortmund were insisting on £82m-plus was too much for some fans, who told the club to “walk away”.
One supporter took to Twitter to say “Didn’t make the bench for England’s first game and didn’t come off the bench in the second. I’d bin the deal and walk away.”
Another tweeted: “He’s not worth it. I’d have more respect for United if they just walked away.”
Ah, shucks, you just can’t please them all, can you?