Solskjaer identified Jadon Sancho as his principal target this summer & was seen as a vital opportunity for squad enhancement following Champions League qualification. [athletic]
Solskjaer urged Ed Woodward to keep trying, and financial concerns meant other signings were pushed to the periphery until the final 48 hours of the window. [athletic]
United did not believe Dortmund would stay firm on the price-tag of ?120m or their deadline of August 10, embarking on a long-running game of poker without realising that BVB weren’t even at the table. [athletic]
United effectively sat still in the hope Dortmund would blink first and place the call they were ready to do business. Intermediaries attempted to broker a deal but were waiting on United to move, which did not happen. [athletic]
Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund’s chief executive, is said to have personally phoned United at the start of the summer & explained very clearly how much the deal would cost & when it needed to be done by. [athletic]
The only way United could have got the deal on after the deadline was with a “crazy” offer along the lines of Neymar’s £200m transfer, if the club had come in with an offer of ?140-£150m then BVB might have done business. [athletic]
One offer, submitted by chief negotiator Matt Judge through the agents in the final week of September, amounted to £80 million, plus add-ons. Once passed to Watzke, it was immediately rejected as too little too late. [athletic]
Sancho himself is believed to have felt undervalued by the offers & even if United had placed the right bid late on, it is understood he would have questioned why it did not come earlier. [athletic]
Sancho was never going to agitate for a move unless United came close to Dortmund’s demands. He was prepared to join United but not “desperate” to move this summer & was relaxed either way. [athletic]
United were under the impression he “would walk to Old Trafford”. Sancho texted Marcus Rashford about United & the pair were said to be excited at the prospect of linking up. [athletic]
Matt Judge suggested the issue lay with “the owners”. Agents proposing other players were told of a £50m net spend budget for United. [athletic]
The Sancho failure represents the third time Dortmund have got their way over United this year, after the signings of Erling Haaland & Jude Bellingham — two episodes that have caused lingering frustration. [athletic]
It’s understood Sancho long since shifted his focus to a future transfer rather than moving in the current window but it is anticipated more clubs will be in the reckoning for his signature by then. [athletic]
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