Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has refused to rule out a move for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho when the summer transfer window opens.
Sancho, 20, is about to enter the last two years of his deal and is believed to have the intention of leaving the Bundesliga instead of signing a renewal.
United has been a longtime fan of Sancho, having tried to sign him from Manchester City in 2017, and was unsuccessful in a move to buy the England international last year because they did not qualify for the Champions League.
Dortmund wants a nine-figure fee for Sancho, which could lead to lengthy negotiations with potential buyers in a post-COVID climate, and a move by United for Sancho also depends largely on whether they return to the Champions League.
Solskjaer’s former teammate in Norway, Jan Aage Fjortoft, host of Viasport, mischievously asked Solskjaer what the chances were that he would sign someone from Dortmund.
“Ha ha. I’m good at math, but I can’t answer that question, Jan Aage,” Solskjaer replied. “There are many good footballers on many teams.”
UK sources have dismissed Dortmund’s confidence to retain Sancho as a risk, as club chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted in March that Sancho was likely to be sold this summer.
Dortmund will most likely seek more than £ 100 million for Sancho, as he sold Ousmane Dembele to Barcelona in 2017 for £ 135.5 million. Dortmund negotiated a general fee of £ 135.5 million for Dembele de Barca and received £ 96.8 million in advance.
Sancho has scored 20 goals in 43 games for Dortmund this period and would potentially rank on the right side of United’s top three with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
Solskjaer told reporters he was still unsure about United’s transfer budget with the Champions League rating far from assured, and MEN reported that this month’s moves for certain goals depend on a return to the Champions League. . The coronavirus pandemic has already cost the club £ 28 million, United’s revenue for the third quarter fell 18.7% to £ 123.7 million and its debt soared to £ 124.4 million to £ 429.1 millions.
“I think it will be a quiet transfer window or a visibly different type of window,” added Solskjaer. “I think many clubs will have to be careful not to spend too much money. You may not yet know how much you have lost financially during this pandemic and what has happened lately.”
“We are quite relaxed. I am very happy with the team I have. I think it looks better and better. And then there is something in front of us that screams that it is sensible, both from a sporting and financial perspective. So we know we will try but not you can make no promises. “
“I don’t know what Jurgen messages [Klopp] It has been given [from the Liverpool owners] but we have had a good dialogue all the time and we have had a plan since I signed in March [last year].
“And after the three months of confinement and for how long will we have to play in front of empty stands, if we play in the Champions League next season, there are many things like that, which will be factors and decisive in terms of what we can do when the season ends. “
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