Borussia Dortmund are going to look rather silly if they sell Jadon Sancho this summer, having now insisted the August 10th deadline existed, wasn’t a negotiation tactic, and that the player now won’t be moving.
Even the German media had been questioning how serious the supposed deadline was, and that could have given Dortmund a way out. The deadline had been largely pushed by the media, so it was possible for BVB to back away from it and say that was just their date of preference rather than something concrete.
Ruhr Nachrichten report Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke had informed Manchester United about this date at the end of June, and that he wasn’t bluffing. The English club probably thought differently, and perhaps still do.
As far as Dortmund’s local newspaper has it, the club were prepared to take their €120m in instalments, but they weren’t ready to accept a penny less and that probably includes not accepting a flat fee and bonuses to then reach the figure.
There’s no huge pressure for the Bundesliga club, given they have Sancho on a contract until June 2023, believing they can enjoy a further year of football from him and then still sell for a high price.
Borussia Dortmund are sending out a ‘clear message’ that they’re not simply a ‘training club’, a stance which may have been made stronger by the recent comments from Uli Hoeneß, who mocked the BVB plan of buying to later sell.
Whilst many Manchester United supporters have brought up old comments from Dortmund about not wanting to sell Ousmane Dembele, only to later sell him, there’s a feeling the situation is very different this time.
The money isn’t needed, and Sancho isn’t expected to try and force a sale, unlike Dembele who went AWOL.
Bild report the club are ‘not expecting’ a repeat with Sancho, and they quote Michael Zorc as saying: “Of course we recently had an exchange with his advisor, we have a very good relationship with one another. But the club’s decision is respected by both the agency and the player.”
That can only be tested by Manchester United actually turning up with the €120m, something which they quite clearly haven’t yet.
