In a matter of days, Manchester United fans will, one way or another, be put out of their misery
As far as transfer sagas go, few in living memory have been more tedious than Manchester United's 'pursuit' of Jadon Sancho.
The Borussia Dortmund forward has been linked with a big money move to Old Trafford for most of the year, with speculation intensifying when United clinched a top-four finish at the end of the Covid-interrupted season.
Dortmund have set deadlines which United haven't met and, well, have seemed pretty confident for the duration of the window that Sancho would actually be staying put. At the time of writing, Sky Germany are reporting that the Germans have rejected a bid of €100m (€80m plus €20m in bonus payments) from United.
All of this, however, hasn't been enough to stem the flow of reports - most emanating from England - linking Sancho with a switch to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side.
With the transfer deadline - the
real one, not the one Dortmund made up - drawing ever closer, the chances of the England international making a move appear remote though, crucially, not completely dead.
With that in mind, the news that Sancho hasn't travelled with his teammates for the German Super Cup meeting with Bayern Munich is likely to be interpreted by some as a sign a transfer may be imminent. The reason for his absence, Sky Sports report, is that he has a respiratory infection. He has tested negative for coronavirus.
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This has been another underwhelming transfer window for United, who have only managed to add Donny van de Beek to their first team squad, despite being linked with the usual B&Q Warehouse-full of names.
Added to that list on Tuesday were
Real Madrid's Luka Jovic and free agent, Edinson Cavani. Both would bolster United's goalscoring options even if neither would strengthen the three positions - right-sided forward, left-back or central defender - that Solskjaer is said to have prioritised.
