“No state, no sheikh, no billionaire”: Club chief explains why summer move for United star broke down

Borussia Dortmund director of football, Sebastien Kehl, has opened up on why they abandoned their pursuit of Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho.

Sancho finally gets his move

Sancho’s future was the subject of intense speculation during the entire summer transfer window after Chelsea opted against making his signing a permanent one.

It was made abundantly clear that he had no place under Ruben Amorim, and United made him available for transfer.

Sancho attracted attention from a number of clubs, among them AS Roma and Besiktas, but he declined the approaches, with some proposals failing to meet expectations and others, like Besiktas, dismissed because of the league itself.

Eventually, United and Aston Villa reached an agreement over a season-long loan move for the England international.

As part of the deal, Villa will cover 80% of Sancho’s wages, although some clauses and bonuses could see them pay him his entire salary.

Sancho revealed that he accepted Villa’s proposal because of Unai Emery’s detailed plan for him.

At some point during the summer transfer window, Dortmund were also mentioned to be eyeing Sancho, but a move never materialised.

Dortmund chief Sebastien Kehl has revealed that they were priced out of a move for the United star, even adding that they would have needed a sheikh or a billionaire to get the transfer over the line.

Kehl explains why Sancho swoop didn’t happen

Speaking to BILD [as quoted by SportWitness], Kehl remarked about Sancho, “Of course, we also addressed the issue internally at some point, but there must be a feasible economic framework.”

“With the transfers we have made, we have invested approximately €100m in new players, similar to last summer.”

“But there is no state, no sheikh, no billionaire behind us.”

“We have to earn our own money and, in the long run, can only spend what we previously earned. We have exhausted our financial possibilities for this transfer period.”

Sancho could make his Villa debut on Saturday, 13 September, when they go away to Everton.

Feature image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images


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Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!

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