Man Utd and Dortmund agree £73m transfer of Sancho
Martin Macdonald
- 30 Jun 2021 20:26 BST
Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund have finally agreed terms on the £73 million transfer of England winger Jadon Sancho, according to BBC Sport.
In what has become one of the most protracted transfer sagas in recent memory, Man Utd have been pursuing Sancho for over 18 months.
They initially contacted Dortmund about Sancho in the summer of 2020 when the German giants held firm on their £100m valuation of the player.
However, Dortmund have not been immune to the financial impact of the pandemic and so have waited a year to accept a lower offer from the Red Devils.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has prioritised the signing of Sancho this summer as he looks to add firepower on the right wing which has proved to be a trouble position.
Mason Greenwood, Daniel James, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford have all been deployed there to mixed fortunes, while the club want to mould Greenwood into a true number nine rather than an inside forward.
Sancho has emerged as one of the most sensational wing players in Europe over the past two seasons, having left Manchester City for Dortmund in 2017.
From the start of the 2019/20 campaign to now, he has made 70 starts in all competitions for BVB and scored 36 goals and recorded 38 assists.
Over the past year Sancho's name has been mentioned alongside the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, too, but Man Utd made their intentions known early on which is why they have always been the front-runners for his signature.
Once the England international completes a medical and agrees personal terms, he will become a Man Utd player.
Ferdinand's pleas
One ex-Man Utd player who will be delighted to see the deal finally go through is Rio Ferdinand, who has been campaigning for Sancho to move to Old Trafford for months.
“I have said for a long time that if he is available, Manchester United should get him,” he told Sunday World.
“They should have got him last summer and they need to get him this summer. He’s English, hungry, talented, has got it all – and he’s only 21. It’s a no-brainer. You go and get him.
“He would make a massive difference to United. Put him in there with Bruno Fernandes, let him add a bit of magic to the attacking side of the team and he will fly at United.”
“I remember when he went to Man City, I wondered whether Manchester United had missed a trick by not trying to get him, but the jump from kids football to the next level is not easy and he found that.
“What I liked about his decision to go to Dortmund was the kid was ready to take himself out of his comfort zone.
“At 17, it would have been easy to stay at City or go to a club somewhere else in England, but he had the mentality to leave Man City and try and better himself. He backed himself to succeed in Germany, and it was a big decision for a kid of his age.
“Now we are seeing what Jadon Sancho is all about. He didn’t want to wait to see if he’d get into the City team. He felt he was ready to play at the top level and he went to Germany, so credit to him for taking the step and credit again for making a success of it.”
