Is the Jadon Sancho to Manchester United deal dead in the water, or will the England star ultimately end up at Old Trafford after a protracted transfer saga?
We spoke about the 20-year-old on 'Deal or No Deal' on OTB AM this morning, and our own Phil Egan gave us his take on whether or not it is likely to happen.
"This is classic Manchester United, they love a transfer saga. You think back to Paul Pogba in 2016, eventually it got done. You think of Harry Maguire... we spent weeks talking about what price they were going to pay, and ultimately they end up paying the price they were given at the start of the summer.
"I think there's going to be something similar along those lines for this deal between United and Dortmund for Jadon Sancho.
"€120 million is what Dortmund want, United are thinking 'We've got 90.' They've got to try and meet in the middle. This deal has been talked about being in installments.
"Manchester United can afford this. Are they going to drag it out and eventually pay and think if they'd done it earlier they could have had Sancho on the books a lot earlier?
"Manchester City are getting their deals done quickly, Chelsea already have a few deals done, they did them early. It just gives you a chance to assess what you're working with before you even head into a pre-season.
"We know how good Jadon Sancho is. He's that good you could sign him on a Wednesday and throw him into a team on the Saturday and he'd make a hige difference. He's just that talented.
"But it would be nice to be able to get a look at him and see how your other players play alongside him in training, what's the best combination."
What has happened with Jadon Sancho's move to Manchester United? 🤔
OTB's Phil, Ger and Eoin looked over the latest news in a saga that seemed to have reached an end yesterday | #OTBAM #MUFC @GilletteUK | #MadeofWhatMatters
Full Deal or No Deal ➡️ https://t.co/FOGe5CbpO8 pic.twitter.com/gpgXTEsJg0— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 5, 2020
Andy Mitten, Editor of United We Stand, joined the show last night - he said that although Sancho is keen to move it is far from a done deal.
"There are talks between Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund - they have liked him for a long time.
"I've been reading stories that personal terms have been agreed, and they haven't; that a valuation has been agreed, and it hasn't. I am told that talks are at an early stage.
"People have been saying that this is going to happen today and I am just told that it is not.
"United are prepared, if they cannot get an agreement, to look at other targets. I wrote a story a few weeks ago linking United with Kingsley Coman of Bayern Munich, and that was very well-sourced."
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Phil on when the deal will be done:
Jadon Sancho to Manchester United in August: 7/10 chance
Jadon Sancho to Manchester United in September: 8 or 9/10 chance
Jadon Sancho to Manchester United in October: 10/10 chance
Other potential deals discussed:
Jack Grealish to Manchester United: 4/10
How many more players will Manchester City sign? Maybe another two
Thiago Alcantara to Liverpool? 6/10
