You heard the edict yesterday from Borussia Dortmund Director Michael Zorc- Jadon Sancho remains with BVB for this season and the decision is final. Only the time between now and when the summer transfer window closes will tell if that hard line actually holds or not.
We’ve seen United been told their potential deal is off, only to pay up the massive amount the other clib demanded later (Harry Maguire). We’ve also seen Zorc pump his chest and declare “no sale” in public, only to cash out later in the same window (Ousmane Dembele). So we’ll see what happens.
Jadon Sancho is a world class player and top level elite talent, and any club that has him in their lineup is very fortunate to say the least. But it’s not the end of the world if United don’t land their top target this transfer window.
It’s missing out to be sure, but there are some upsides to it.
Other Options are Much Cheaper
Yesterday, at this link, we looked at some of the contingency plans should United not land Sancho. Today we’ll cover a few more. New wing based attacking player names being linked with United now include well Dembele himself, coincidentally!
Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Juventus’ Douglas Costa are among the list of other potential fallback options.
Mason Greenwood Can Hold Down the Fort
The 18-year-0ld wing attacking player had a massive breakout season in 2019-20. He scored double figure Premier League goals, and in the process break or tie records that put him in rarified air. For more on all that Greenwood has achieved this season go to this link.
Of course, the converse of this is that it goes without saying that you always want to have added depth on your squad and competition for places. Especially so if the injury bug bites. We saw that early this season when the final third suffered a rash of injuries. United let Romelu Lukaku go, but didn’t do anything to find a suitable replacement.
Money Can Go to Real Positions of Need
If United are to meet Dortmund’s demands, then the price would mark a new transfer fee record, for both United and England as a whole. Is it really worth it? Especially at a position where there isn’t a pressing need at all?
United need another defensive, playmaking midfielder, if not now, then certainly a season or two down the road because Nemanja Matic isn’t getting any younger. Fred had a much better season than his disastrous debut, but there’s only so much you can expect from him.
Ditto for Scott McTominay, who is solid, but not off the charts spectacular.
Depth at left back is an issue, because Luke Shaw cannot be counted on to say healthy for an entire season. We’ve already seen that show before, many times. As for Brandon Williams, perhaps one day he’ll be the kind of player that can anchor the position, but he’s definitely a ways away from that level right now.
Victor Lindelof had a better season than the previous one, but it wouldn’t hurt United to upgrade at his slot too; providing an improvement in tag team partner for Maguire.
Potential Crisis of Wage Structure Chaos Averted
United have finally jettisoned Alexis Sanchez, and the financial albatross that his contract was. You can’t have one player with wages that egregiously higher than everyone else’s and expect to retain true top notch team chemistry.
According to multiple reports, this is a big concern to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer amid the Jadon Sancho talks. He doesn’t want one individual, with a much higher paygrade than everyone else to tip the balance and provoke widespread resentment.
Establishing a Club Transfer Market Identity
Finally, for the longest time during the Ed Woodward era, there was no coherent transfer market strategy at all. It just seemed like the club was building a fantasy team of sorts, and buying the most expensive, biggest name player they could get.
The revolving door at manager exacerbated the problem because you had different guys brought in to play under different systems. However, the OGS era has seen a movement towards largely buying domestic, young promising players. And with that aim, not over-spending.
Identity, in all sports, at all levels, is critical. Sancho, like Maguire, met most of those criteria, but they certainly didn’t come cheap. Obviously, there is no need to be rigid to a script all the time, and if a player is worth it, well then pay up.
However, the higher the cost, the more due diligence, analysis and weighing of pros and cons that needs to be done.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.