Manchester United will only pay £50m for Jadon Sancho – report

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have been heavily linked with a move for the Dortmund winger, who arrived in Germany from Manchester City in 2017.

Dortmund are seeking over £100m for the 20-year-old, but Sky Sports claim United officials have told them that valuation does not factor in the economic hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, they think £50m is appropriate.

Sancho finished third in the Bundesliga scoring charts (17 goals) and second in the assist standings (16) in the 2019-20 season.

Dortmund chief Hans-Joachim Watzke has previously said he is confident the Englishman will stay, adding that he would only be allowed to leave if their valuation is met.

"I don't think a club will pay the sum. There is also no coronavirus discount on him," Watzke told Sport 1 last week.

Birmingham City youngster Jude Bellingham is also expected to choose between Dortmund and United in the coming weeks, with the 17-year-old's decision likely to play a role in any Sancho deal.

If you ‘only’ have £50 million to spend, then fine. But to leak it to the press and start the stirring the pot? It’s embarrassing and disrespectful.

It's only 12 months since United made Harry Maguire the most expensive defender in world football. That was £80m. By that logic, Sancho is worth at least £150m – so £100m is a fair price.

The financial impacts of coronavirus are still not fully clear, so to bully a team into selling their prized asset before the market has adjusted is obviously unfair. Hopefully Dortmund have the financial might to ignore any such insolent offers.

And anyway… why is Sancho so desperate to leave Dortmund?

He has a far better chance of winning trophies in Germany, particularly while Erling Haaland is also on the books. United are a long way adrift of Liverpool and Manchester City, and Sancho alone will not close that gap, while Chelsea now look best-placed to make it a big three given their aggressive transfer strategy.