Manchester United identify former Dortmund star as Sancho alternative

Borussia Dortmund say Jadon Sancho is not for sale after August 10 deadline.

It would be fair to suggest that Manchester United have had an eventful past 24 hours as they seal a semi-final spot in the Europa League after beating Copenhagen FC in extra-time. But despite the victory, it was someone else who dominated the headlines for the Reds.

Jadon Sancho, who has been a long-term target for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is off the selling list by Borussia Dortmund, purportedly. The German club wanted to sort out their squad before the commencement of their pre-season camp yesterday, August 10.

To attain the services at the earliest, Ed Woodward and Matt Judge began dialogues for Jadon Sancho, only seeing the proceedings advance at a tedious pace with the involvement of third parties to facilitate the deal.

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The Bundesliga club have remained steadfast over their €120m valuation of Sancho- which is deemed unreasonable in the climate where every football institutions are struggling to make their financial ends meet due to the consequences of COVID-19 lockdown.

Citing Jadon Sancho’s desire to leave Dortmund, Man United are willing to stretch their finances as they find themselves in a better economic state than others. However, Der Schwarzgelben’s demands to relieve the English winger from North Rhine-Westphalia have proved to be a constant sticking point.

Now, it is understood that Jadon Sancho needs to hand in a formal transfer request to accelerate the proceedings- during which Dortmund have been dormant- understandably, having no need to sell the player who has three years left on his contract and is happy to continue in Germany.

Regardless of the passage of August 10 deadline, Manchester United are hopeful of striking a deal with Dortmund to lure Jadon Sancho to Old Trafford. But fearing the worst, there are a few alternatives lined up should the deal- considered to be ongoing- falls through.

According to the reports emerging from ESPN, Man United have identified Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele, formerly Borussia Dortmund, as the viable option to reinforce the right-sided attack for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Previously, Kingsley Coman, Bayern Munich winger, has garnered interest from the insiders at Manchester United- who consider the Frenchman as a cheaper alternative to Sancho. Additionally, Douglas Costa and Federico Chiesa are among the list of targets considered by the Reds, too.

It is learnt that United bosses have made an initiated informal talks with Barcelona for Dembele- who has not featured for the club since November due to hamstring injury needing a surgery.

Since a move away from Dortmund in 2017, the 23-year-old has failed to propel his career at Camp Nou due to persistent fitness concerns. This makes Dembele an attainable target with Barcelona in need of funds to pare the financial burden due to the pandemic.

Having previously expressed interest in Diogo Dalot, Manchester United could use the full-back- deemed surplus to requirements for Solskjaer- as additional leverage to sign Dembele.

Despite the club seeking alternative options, fans, still hope to witness Jadon Sancho grace the Old Trafford stage. Clutching at the straws, a cryptic tweet from Paul Pogba has sent entire Reds fraternity into a frenzy.

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