It’s the opposite of a slow news day in Manchester United land, so we’ll call it a fast news day. It’s not just fast, it’s blazing speed as the Red Devils’ Europa League quarterfinal kicks off in a couple hours, AND they suffered a major setback in the pursuit of their top summer tranfer target.
We have more on Borussia Dortmund putting the Jadon Sancho hammer down at this link, and we’ll expound on that in a bit.
We’ll also look at United’s fall back options, but first here is the Europa League Preview Material: United team news and analysis United starting XI prediction and match stats, numbers, FYI
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc: Sancho isn't leaving the club this summer.
Also Zorc, in 2017:
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 10, 2020
As you can see from the tweet above, Dortmund Director Michael Zorc has done this before- declaring “no sale,” only to cave in later down the road. Such was the case with Ousmane Dembele, who eventually did get his FC Barcelona move.
Thus, this Zorc quote above is really making the rounds on social media today, and we’ll see if the already very protracted Jadon Sancho saga continues on in its tedium.
In the meantime, let’s look at the fallback options; where names are bolded and hyperlinked, click there for a previous transfer story on said player.
Jack Grealish, according to TalkSPORT, and this is an article that’s a few days old already, Aston Villa are working on awarding their team captain a fresh new bumper deal. AVFC are hoping the fresh and improved terms will ward off United and keep the winger at Villa Park.
Grealish has long been considered the #2 man on the United summer shopping list, but the next play could be Kingsley Coman, according to many outlets. The Sun has more on the Bayern Munich outcast at this link.
Finally, and sticking with the Bundesliga theme here, FC Schalke’s Rabbi Matondo has long been considered a much more attainable and significantly cheaper option. However, it’s been all quiet on the western front regarding this transfer narrative lately.
It’s also worth noting that Mason Greenwood, the young man who would be going to the bench, if Sancho were acquired, has had a pretty impressive season himself.
While Sancho is obviously a world class player, and it would be great to have him, United are doing pretty well right where they’re at in attack.
Plus, the funding for a new winger could be used to improve needs elsewhere.
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.
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