Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho sat out training on Thursday, sparking a tiring row of reports over whether his absence is linked to a potential move to Manchester United.
If you only follow football, you could be forgiven for believing that Sancho is already a United player, with his name linked to the Old Trafford club. Without ‘Man Utd’, Sancho headlines are rare.
The story has been going on for over a year now, with 90 Minutes reporting in September 2019 that the club were confident of a deal sometime in 2020. Will eventually lower his demands, but it seems that was the wrong decision.
That counter by Jadon Sancho ⚡️
Run box-to-box before settling on the assist for Holland’s second of the night for Dortmund? pic.twitter.com/HSQRLbItv9
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 19, 2020
Some fuel was added to the ever-burning fire when the club confirmed that Sancho, along with goalkeeper Roman Burke, would miss the German Super Cup due to a non-Covid-related ‘respiratory infection’. With the transfer deadline set to expire on Monday, many questioned the timing of Sancho’s absence, and this was compounded when he was also reported to have missed training on Thursday.
Dortmund say it is a coincidence, as do Sky Sports, who say the German club are still not interested in selling, given that United missed their August deadline by more than a month. As for Sancho, he is also believed to have ended any hope of joining United this summer.
However, the desperation to continue the story till Monday is on the rise. The Express, in particular, have run with a story linking the two, as they acknowledge Sky’s information, but then speculate that ‘it could also be because United have another, Developing a better offer’.
⚫️ A good way to celebrate 100 games? Thank you for all your messages! @BVB pic.twitter.com/rP8kHnhLmj
— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) September 14, 2020
“We won’t actually be presenting you with any new information…but what if?”
Back in the real world, United are looking for a replacement for Sancho, with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé emerging as a potential loan target. However, Barça’s request that United cover 100% of his wages.