Manchester United ready to return with Jadon Sancho offer – Paper Round

Manchester United are ready to revive their search for Jadon Sancho by submitting an official offer for the 20-year-old winger. According to the Mail, the Red Devils plan to “finalize agent salary and fees” before submitting their offer to Borussia Dortmund as they look to complete a deal for their number one transfer goal. United remain confident that they can still bring Sancho to Old Trafford this summer, despite Dortmund boss Michael Zorc claiming the Premier League team missed last month’s deadline to reach a agreement. The Bundesliga club is still demanding a record transfer fee for its prized asset, believed to be £ 108 million.

Paper Round’s opinion: Dortmund have been quite clear in their demands for the England international. Either pay the asking price or you’ll stay at the Westfalenstadion for at least another season. United played the same game last summer with Leicester before finally paying the Foxes’ sales price of a whopping £ 85 million for Harry Maguire. Dortmund is being as stubborn now as Leicester was back then. Obviously, the coronavirus crisis has hit the transfer market, but if Sancho is happy to stay and Dortmund don’t need to sell, United will have to pay £ 108m if they want to complete the transfer. There is no point wasting time finalizing agent fees if they are not accepting Dortmund’s demands.

Bournemouth striker Joshua King has asked Manchester United to save him from the championship and take him to Old Trafford. The Sun reports that the 28-year-old is “determined” to leave the Cherries this summer following their relegation from the Premier League and has issued a “come and take me plea” to his former club, Manchester United. The Red Devils’ interest in the Norwegian became public in January when they saw a £ 20 million offer for King rejected in the winter window. The Bournemouth forward admits he wanted to join United back then and still has ambitions to play in the Champions League. King has also attracted the interest of AC Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle.

Paper Round’s opinion: It’s hard to see United in place of King, especially if their search for Jadon Sancho is relived. The only way the Cherries forward can realistically complete his “dream” signing for Manchester would be if the club does not sign Sancho or any of their other attacking targets. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team has been linked with players like Douglas Costa, Kingsley Coman and even King’s Bournemouth teammate David Brooks as alternative options to Sancho during the summer transfer window. It all depends on how much Bournemouth is willing to demand for their forward, but King could become a late option for an alternative Premier League club before the transfer window closes if the Norwegian pushes for an exit.

Arsenal are stepping up their summer offering, with midfielder Lucas Torreira approaching an exit from Emirates Stadium. According to the Times, the Uruguayan international is “close to signing on loan from Fiorentina” in a deal that has the option of becoming permanent at the end of the season. The Series A team will pay an initial fee of £ 7.1 million to Arsenal for the loan and the Gunners could receive an additional £ 14.2 million next summer if a permanent move is agreed. Mikel Arteta also seeks to get rid of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Sead Kolasinac, Matteo Guendouzi, Mesut Özil and Mohamed Elneny; while Héctor Bellerin is open to leaving in search of a new challenge, with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus interested in signing the full-back.

Paper Round’s opinion: Arteta really has a job on her hands. It’s no secret that the Gunners had to have a pretty active summer in the transfer market. There were numerous areas on the team that desperately needed to be improved and many players that needed to be unloaded. The club is doing a decent job at the moment, but the new Premier League season starts again in just over a week, so they need to accelerate their sales. Arsenal have been linked to transfers for midfielder duo Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar, but neither will be cheap. If one, or both, move to North London, Arteta will need most of the players listed in transfers that were named in the Times report to be sold to raise the funds.

The Sun reports that England international Harry Maguire requested a retirement from the Three Lions team after appealing his criminal conviction, but was rejected by Gareth Southgate. The Manchester United captain was fired from England’s squad after being found guilty of bribery, aggravated battery and resisting arrest following an alleged incident on the Greek island of Mykonos last month. However, Maguire appealed the conviction and called his international boss to ask him to reinstate him to the squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Iceland and Denmark. Southgate decided to align himself with the original FA decision and will keep the 27-year-old out of his current squad, with Wolves defender Conor Coady receiving his first call-up from England.

Paper Round’s opinion: It must have been a difficult decision for Southgate. The England manager initially sided with Maguire after his arrest by including him in the original squad after speaking with the United defender about the incident. It was probably embarrassing when Maguire was found guilty and had to be fired just hours after the squad announcement was made. While his quality and experience would be useful in the current squad, it is probably best for Maguire and Southgate if the center-back takes a break from the limelight and spotlight until the Premier League restarts next week. It would be foolish if Maguire were reinstated once again after being retired by the FA.