Manchester United has pivoted to target Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele after recent talks for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho have stalled, according to ESPN.
The Red Devils were eager in talks with Sancho at first, with some sources even netting it as a done deal, but the German club has been hellbent in getting Sancho's full €120 million (£108 million/$142 million) valuation — a number Manchester United has yet to come close to.
There has been major gamesmanship from Dortmund's side, as sporting director Michael Zorc recently vowed Jadon Sancho would be staying in Borussia, something he deemed as a “final decision.”
This comes on the heels of Manchester United not meeting the price tag for Jadon Sancho and going past the Aug. 10 deadline the club gave the Red Devils to hammer out an agreement. Borussia Dortmund has not set up camp in Switzerland for training and Sancho has been part of team activities as customary.
Ironically enough, this is hardly the first time Zorc has guaranteed a player would stay, only for him to leave months later. As fate would have it, he said there was “no way” Ousmane Dembele would leave in the summer of 2017 — two months later, Dembele left for Barcelona.
Ousmane Dembele is a nice alternative, as he plays the same winger role as Sancho. Manchester United are hoping that Zorc is merely playing hardball and that the deal is not completely off the table, but they know they must step up their price if they are to snatch Jadon Sancho from their hands this summer.
The contingency plan is there, however, as Manchester United has already started talks with Dembele's representatives. A move to Old Trafford would give the French international a new opportunity after proving to be a relatively poor fit at Camp Nou.
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