The summer transfer window closed on Manchester United but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer failed on his promise to bring Jadon Sancho to Old Trafford. The deal was not completed and according to Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke, the blame rests solely on the Red Devils' miscalculating the German side's position.
United marked Sancho a priority signing but Watzke said the buying club misjudged Dortmund despite the Germans making clear that the targeted player will only be released at a certain condition. It was wrong for the Premier League giants to assume that they can ask for a discount on the rising star, the executive stressed.
Reports indicated that United and Sancho's camp have sealed a personal agreement but its finalization depended on the Bundesliga club giving their approval, which costs £103 million. But the English club insisted the demanded fee was unrealistic and the negotiations went unsettled at the close of the transfer deadline on October 5.
"[They] misjudged the situation. We would be more willing to compromise ... We had a clear line and will continue to do so next summer," Mirror reported Watzke as saying.
The Dortmund official also noted that stories circulated in the summer that Sancho signing with United was in the bag but the England international is still wearing the BVB shirt. Watzke said it will be the case over the next three seasons, which is the length of the 20-year-old's stay with the club.
However, the executive allowed that a window could open up and Sancho will be out of Germany by next summer. Watzke said players' movement is part of the football business and the Dortmund winger is not immune from possible transfer transactions in the near future.
According to Metro, United will likely make a fresh bid on the Bundesliga sensation as early as January but the club could be racing against giant competitors. Even as Solskjaer made known his intention to win the signature of Sancho in the last transfer window, rival clubs are said to be keeping tabs on the young winger.
In the Premier League, for instance, United must outbid Liverpool as the reigning champions are thought to be keen on signing Sancho. It is believed that there is an interest too coming from Real Madrid to get the youngster to bring his game to La Liga.
And the possibility remains that Sancho will elect to stay at Bundesliga next season but will make the switch to Bayern Munich.
As Watzke had indicated: "In this industry, you can never say that a player is completely unsellable."
For United and other interested clubs, that appeared a clear statement from Dortmund that Sancho is open for a business discussion, which presumably will only start rolling if the price quoted in a proposal is to the German side's liking.
