Manchester United make expensive transfer mistake with Jadon Sancho

Manchester United’s failure to ink Jadon Sancho this summer is going to cost them millions in the future. Barcelona and Real Madrid will see to that.

Officials at Manchester United had a golden opportunity to sign Jadon Sancho this summer if they only met Borussia Dortmund’s hefty, but reasonable, asking price. Instead, the Premier League giants will wait until next summer to return for the sensational attacker. That’s going to cost officials at Old Trafford quite a bit of money.

According to The Mirror, United won’t be the only club bidding for Sancho next summer. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid will be gearing up to add the English starlet to their attacking corps in a year’s time. Dortmund are salivating over the prospect of a bidding war breaking out between three of Europe’s richest clubs.

Manchester United had a chance and blinked

It’s now very likely that Sancho’s price is going to go up dramatically next summer. Dortmund won’t feel any need to lower his fee since they have the player under contract through 2023. The knowledge that both Real and Barcelona will join the fray could tempt the German giants to ask for upwards of £150 million for their prized asset.

Even a club with United’s financial resources might blink at that sort of fee. The club’s revenues should be on the upswing next year assuming the current global pandemic subsides. The question still remains whether or not United really need a player like Sancho. He’d likely upgrade their attack, but there are whispers that he might not be significantly better than Mason Greenwood on the wing. The club’s decision to delay chasing Sancho for 12 months will give Greenwood an opportunity to prove that he’s good enough to make purchasing Sancho a luxury move.

On the other hand, Sancho will have another season in Germany to refine his skills. A full season playing alongside Erling Haaland and Thorgan Hazard in Dortmund’s front three could allow him to blossom into a global superstar next season. The talent is absolutely there for Sancho to make that kind of leap. An increase in focus and work rate could allow him to make the leap from great to world-class over the next 12 months.

The reality for United is that they’ve allowed Sancho to slip through their fingers this summer. It’s a decision that could really come back to haunt the club’s transfer coffers next year. Barcelona and Real Madrid are going to drive his future transfer price through the roof.