Welcome to the summer silly season! And of course, you can’t say “summer transfer window” at Manchester United and not talk Jadon Sancho. It’s been a rather slow and unexciting transfer window thus far as a whole, and that has only made every single step of progress in the Sancho negotiations just all the more exciting.
The gap between United and Borussia Dortmund on how much the two clubs believe the 21-year-old English international is worth has really shrunken down now. It’s a matter of when, not if right now. However, there is still a gap between the two sides, according to multiple outlets. Here’s the latest from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano:
Manchester United officially told BVB they’re prepared to pay €85m for Sancho. ?
Add ons included as part of the negotiation ‘to reach an agreement soon’.
BVB still asking for €95m guaranteed. Clubs in talks about add ons structure.
Jadon made it clear: he wants Man Utd.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 24, 2021
Meanwhile the Manchester Evening News “understands United are £8.5million shy of meeting Borussia Dortmund’s overall valuation…Dortmund are believed to want £6m more up front and an additional £2.5m in add-ons. Sources close to the player believe United will sort the structure of the payments.”
Elsewhere ESPN FC report that Old Trafford “have intimated they are willing to pay £72 million for Sancho even though Dortmund are asking for closer to £77m.”
In other words, whatever the exact monetary figure, in whichever currency you are dealing with, the principle is the same- we’re getting there, but we’re not there yet. We’ve seen this so many times recently when United do their transfer business, they hold out and hold out, but in the end they pay up for what they want.
And at this point, what’s wrong with that? Jadon Sancho wants this move, has wanted it for some time, and this transfer saga has been plenty protracted already. And at least Dortmund have dropped their price along the way here, thereby speeding up the process. Agreeing to personal terms will not be an issue here, as that was settled a long time ago.
The other sticking point here, in addition to the transfer fee sum, is how to structure payment. Throughout the negotiation this summer, BVB have wanted more of the money up front while United have wanted to defer the money until later.
However, there seems to be a strong confidence, among all parties that we’ll reach resolution on the Jadon Sancho transfer deal sooner rather than later.
And then we’ll finally, and I mean FINALLY, have a 2021 summer splash signing. From which we could have many ripple effects, including a resolution of the Jesse Lingard-West Ham situation.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
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