For the third window in a row, Manchester United were active on transfer deadline
day (Edinson Cavani, Alex Telles, Amad Diallo and Facundo Pellistri). The signing
attracting the biggest headlines, however, is the one they didn’t sign: Jadon Sancho.
After 10 weeks’ opportunity for talks,
Sancho remains a Borussia Dortmund player and United never got close to signing him.
At the beginning of the summer, Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund’s chief executive,
is said to have personally phoned Manchester United and explained how
much the deal would cost and when it needed to be done by.
United didn’t believe that position would hold – either the €120 million fee or the August 10
deadline – and so effectively sat still in the hope that 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.
When Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc stood at the side of their training pitches onAugust 10,
the first day of pre-season, and said the decision on Sancho staying was “final”,
one alarmed United director made a call to check whether the statement was genuine.
The response was along the lines of, “What did you expect? You knew the terms.”
United privately argue that the continued conversations after that point,
conducted via intermediaries Emeka Obasi and Marco Lichtsteiner, were evidence of Dortmund
remaining open to a sale. But the reason for the involvement of agents is hotly disputed.
United insist Dortmund wanted talks done through Obasi and Lichtsteiner,
and some believe this was so Dortmund could stick to their public stance while having a
backchannel to a potential resolution. United held lengthy discussions and made known what
they were willing to pay, which held a firm limit given the current economic environment.
United argued that the €120 million price tag did not take into account the financial
hit caused by the pandemic. Executives genuinely felt it should come down, given the total of the
transfer was potentially enormous – an estimated €250 million including wages and agent fees.
United made what has been described as a “calm decision” to refuse that amount
and felt vindicated when the government postponed the return of fans to stadiums.
But it is understood that Dortmund originally planned for the €120 million as a “minimum”.
In any case, United never got near. One offer, submitted by chief negotiator Matt
Judge through the agents in the final week of September, amounted to £80 million, plus add-ons.
There was a sense at the Westfalenstadion that United did not take Dortmund’s demands seriously
or were acting without full intentions to actually complete the signing.
Sancho himself is believed to have felt undervalued by the offers and even if United had
placed the right bid late on, it is understood he would have questioned why it did not come earlier.
There had actually been dialogue with Sancho’s representatives
dating back to when he left Manchester City for Dortmund in 2017, but talks
commenced in earnest this year once United had secured Champions League football on July 26.
Solskjaer had determined Sancho would be his main target, but that conviction was not found
in the pursuit, with Dortmund soon frustrated at United’s reluctance to commit to a fee
or structure. There were allegations of “freestyling”, a refusal to provide a top
line, and when pushed for answers, Judge suggested the issue lay with “the owners”.
There were accusations of a split in opinion between Ed Woodward and Joel Glazer
over the price, with Woodward advocating a higher fee, but United insist board members
were united on their view that €120 million was too much in the post-COVID-19 climate.
Privately United suggested the €120 million figure could be reached including some
unrealistic bonuses, which may have allowed Dortmund to save face with a headline figure.
Dortmund were resolute in their stance though and believed a higher price could be achieved next
summer. The cause for their confidence was revealed when Zorc announced a previously
unknown extension to Sancho’s contract, meaning it did not run out until 2023.
United insist they knew all those details and were for a long time frustrated by what they
perceived to be the slow process of dealing with Dortmund through Obasi, Sancho’s agent,
and Lichtsteiner, the brother of former Arsenal player Stephan.
Conversely, United have faced claims of communication issues
and lengthy delays from various sources.
There were also difficulties over wages and agent fees.
It has been suggested to The Athletic that the opening contract offer to
Sancho was actually slightly lower than his Dortmund salary. As is customary in Germany,
Sancho’s contract was heavily incentivised. Conscious of maintaining a certain wage structure,
United’s initial proposal was actually less than Sancho’s total pay packet at Dortmund.
A second offer, made in early August, is said to have achieved parity with his Dortmund deal,
with the potential for a fractional increase based on performance. This was not accepted,
with the terms desired thought to be in the region of Paul Pogba’s £250,000 a week.
There was eventually a breakthrough on Sancho’s salary in the second week of September.
Running parallel were negotiations over agent fees. Some have suggested an initial proposal
for a payment to the agents put United on the back foot. After negotiations, a lower sum was agreed.
But that still left the transfer fee and, as the gap remained, other options were considered.
Some agents who have worked with United on other deals believe the club should have halted talks
on Sancho much earlier if €120 million was seen as too much and pursued alternatives.
There are also accusations the delay speaks to a fundamental issue in recruitment,
which sources call a paralysis of decision-making. But given how much Solskjaer wanted Sancho,
United wanted to try for their No 1 target for as long as possible.
Sancho will stay in the crosshairs, for the next time trading opens. It’s understood he
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.