Exclusive – Borussia Dortmund remain in no hurry to sell Jadon Sancho before Euro 2020, anticipating that his value could inflate with good performances on the international stage.
Premier League pair Manchester United and Chelsea are the main chasers for his signatures at the moment, both clubs looking to restructure their forward lines as they go through transitional periods – currently 38 and 32 points respectively behind league leaders Liverpool.
Sancho is in line to fight for a starting place in Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions side at this summer’s continental tournament, and a strong contribution to a deep tournament run – arguably the only stage on which he is yet to prove himself – could see his price rise even further.
Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has refused to definitively rule out an exit for the England starlet, but told German press after the transfer deadline that no club has contacted with them with a proposal.
“The fact is no other club has contacted us so far about Jadon,” he said. “[I can’t] reliably answer today [if Sancho will stay at Dortmund beyond the summer]. What I can say for sure is that he feels very comfortable with us. Otherwise he could not produce such [high-level] performances week after week.”
There appeared to be a rift growing between Sancho and the German club as recently as November, when the young Englishman was substituted in the first half of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich – David Ornstein later writing for The Athletic that Sancho felt ‘humiliated’ by the move.
He had been dropped and fined at the end of the previous month for a late return from international duty, but the snub appears to have served only to motivate him.
Since the Bayern game, Sancho has scored and assisted in eight out of 11 starts, totalling 11 goals and eight assists in that time (including a substitute appearance against Barcelona).