Borussia Dortmund\u2019s sporting director, Michael Zorc, is adamant that Manchester United target Jadon Sancho will not be leaving the club this summer as United failed to agree to a deal for the England international before the August 10 deadline Dortmund set, and as far as the Bundesliga club\u2019s sporting director is concerned, that is the end of it all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe plan on having Jadon Sancho\u00a0in our team this season, the decision is final. I think that answers all our questions,\u201d he said in a press conference on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast summer we adjusted the salary to the performance development of Jadon. In this context, we have extended the contract until 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is somehow where a sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu creeps in regarding the current Sancho situation as this is not the first time Zorc has come out publicly and emphatically said one of Dortmund\u2019s star players is not for sale amid keen interest from a European giant.<\/p>\n
The same happened in the summer of 2017 when Barcelona were pushing for Dembele three years ago following a stunning maiden campaign at the Westfalenstadion and the then 20-year-old forward was attracting interest from Barca, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. Despite Zorc having said the same thing about Dembele not leaving the club, yet he still joined Barcelona.<\/p>\n
When asked then if Demebele would be sold in July 2017, Zorc told Die Welt:<\/p>\n
\u201cNo way. What we\u2019ve seen [from him] was extraordinary, both in his value for the team and his development.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always get the feeling he can do something special, make the difference. He can decide games by himself, even those games he\u2019s not really involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n
A month before that, Zorc was also quoted as saying:<\/p>\n
\u201cOusmane Dembele has a long-term contract [until 2021] and we are making definite plans with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no negotiations [with Barca]. Ousmane\u00a0is going to be playing for Dortmund in the coming season.\u201d<\/p>\n
But despite all this talk, Dembele did leave BVB and on August 28, 2017 the France international joined Barcelona in a mega-money deal worth \u00a3135.5m where Barca stumped up the cash to get their top target, besides inserting a release clause of \u00a3369.6m into Dembele\u2019s Camp Nou contract!<\/p>\n
Morale of the story? Action speaks louder than words as while Dortmund\u2019s chiefs may be insisting Sancho will be with them next season, history has shown otherwise and if United match BVB\u2019s \u00a3108m asking price, there is nothing to suggest the deal will not go through.<\/p>\n
Looks like Manchester United\u2019s pursuit of Sancho is set to rumble on, possibly dragging all the way to deadline day in October.<\/p>\n
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