Manchester United look set to miss out on signing Jadon Sancho as Borussia Dortmund make a ‘final decision’ on him staying in Germany.
United have trailed Sancho for weeks but are stuck in negotiations with Bundesliga side Dortmund over the transfer fee.
The Old Trafford club are understood to be refusing to go higher than £80m for the England international.
But Dortmund want in excess of £100m and set an unofficial deadline of 9 August to get an agreement in place.
Sancho is now with the team on their training camp in Switzerland and Dortmund chief Michael Zorc gave an update on the player at the club’s press conference.
“We plan on having Jadon Sancho in our team this season, the decision is final,” he said.
“I think that answers all our questions.”
Dortmund have hit the Swiss Alps for their pre-season training camp and will play Duisburg, SCR Altach and Austria Vienna in friendlies this week.
Sancho is expected to feature and the Bundesliga outfit appear not to be treating his situation as particularly special.
Dortmund have offered their gem a contract extension and pay rise on his current deal, which has just two more years to run.
The former Manchester City youngster, who moved to Germany for £8m as a 17-year-old, has already told the club he won’t engineer a move to United.
However, Sancho remains interested in what the Red Devils have to offer.
The Sancho to Man Utd transfer saga
United have trailed Sancho all summer and Borussia Dortmund are well aware of the interest in their star talent.
The German side wanted over £100m for the playmaker and know that only a handful of clubs at United’s stature can even consider such a fee.
Solskjaer has already supposedly missed the artificial deadline to snap up the England international.
It is understood United are still willing to discuss a deal but will not be held to ransom over the transfer fee.
The sticking point, it seems, is that the Premier League giants are unwilling to spend over £80m because of the uncertainty about coronavirus.
Solskjaer has enjoyed plenty of success with young attacking talent this season.
Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood have formed a stylish forward triumvirate that aided United’s run of one defeat in their last 23 games.
Adding Sancho into the mix would, Solskjaer hopes, lift his squad into a position to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the league title.
But the boss knows one forward will not complete his team and has other targets in mind too.
The Red Devils are said to be interested in landing Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, while Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish was recently linked with a move to Old Trafford.
Rumours could drag on
Dortmund’s 9 August deadline has been and gone, but that doesn’t mean the Sancho transfer saga is over.
Indeed, the Premier League transfer window doesn’t close until 5 October and United have experience in chasing big-name targets up to the final days.
It remains to be seen how determined Solskjaer is to land the playmaker.
The longer United leave it the more expensive an alternative target would become, as clubs raise their fees knowing buyers face a race against time to get any deal completed before the deadline.
Sancho isn’t likely to kick up a fuss himself and force a move, meaning Dortmund are in a very strong negotiating position.
It means a stalemate could well last a few more weeks, or United drop their interest, unless they suddenly agree to the Germans’ demands.
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