Manchester United’s summer squad rebuild is still in its infancy despite time marching on in the transfer window.
Incomings have so far been limited to just one senior player in Matheus Cunha, who was followed through the door by Paraguayan teenager Diego Leon for whom a deal was agreed in January.
On the other side of the scales, the Red Devils need to thin out a squad crowded with players of no use to Ruben Amorim.
Five major first-team options are said to have asked to leave Old Trafford this summer, but as yet no sale has gone through for anyone.
Sancho pantomime
Jadon Sancho remains a United player in name despite rarely showing himself to be one in spirit.
The English winger spent last season on loan at Chelsea, but the London club paid £5m to wriggle out of their obligation to buy him after he would not accept their wage offer.
The player’s salary at Old Trafford is ludicrously high, and his refusal to compromise on it is making negotiating an exit incredibly difficult.
Room for two at Juventus
Despite that, Italian giants Juventus have been working on a transfer for the 25-year-old for a while with the player reportedly willing to take a pay cut to make the switch.
Sancho seems to be one of two options being pursued by the Serie A giants for the forward role as the club also explore signing Francisco Conceicao permanently after having him on loan from Porto last season.
A report in Corriere dello Sport today indicates that a deal for Conceicao is not far away, with Juventus “feeling optimistic” about finalising his transfer before his €30m clause expires tomorrow.
There is still a little distance between Juve and Porto, but the report claims the deal is unlikely to fall through with agreement so close – the Italian side are offering €24m paid in four instalments and the Portuguese want €25m paid in two.
Happily, Corriere dello Sport suggest that it is not necessarily a case of either Conceicao or Sancho, and both players could arrive at the Allianz Stadium, indicating that if this was to happen Samuel Mbangula would be on his way out.
United’s valuation
However, Juve are currently nowhere near United’s valuation for the player, which is motivated not just by the need to raise funds for reinvesting in the squad.
As per the report the Red Devils have dropped their asking price from €25m to €20m, which is the minimum amount needed to avoid a capital loss after coughing up €100m to sign him from Borussia Dortmund four years ago.
This is far away from Juventus’ initial offer of €10m plus €5m in bonuses.
Ominously, the outlet believe that so desperate are United to get rid of Sancho’s salary, and so great is their need to raise funds with no Champions League football, that “there could be help from Old Trafford to finally resolve this thorny issue.”
How United can help with the player’s salary in the event of a permanent sale is not clear, although reports broke last week of Sancho demanding a lump sum payout in order to bring his sorry time in red to an end.
Featured image Julian Finney via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
