Is Jadon Sancho really worth the 100 plus million fee?

[RedDevilzFox]

By the time the transfer window opens in June we will know just how effective the vaccines are. We will probably know by then if crowds will be back in Aug.

I assume you haven't been keeping up with the news. With the COVID variants doing the rounds and new ones mutating, I doubt crowds will be back in the stadiums this year, certainly not in full capacity. They have already found variants they know are reducing the efficacy of vaccines.
And crowds are only one part of the story, with all businesses taking the hit across the board, don't be surprised if our existing contracts are being renegotiated with a lower value. Force Majeure is a thing in the business world for a reason. Not to mention any new contracts may also be reduced in value.

 

[No Spring Chicken]

I suspect we'll have a situation this summer where a select number of players are basically unaffordable. Take Pogba, if Juve found they couldnt pay what we wanted due to covid and offered half as much, would we take it? Doubt it. If the expectation is that by summer 2022 this will all blow over (whether that's realistic or not is another debate), then a lot of clubs will probably decide its better to wait another year. Why sell now for a cut price figure when you can get the full amount again next year?

After all, there's going to be a pent up demand for players by then. When things get back to normal and clubs can fill the stadiums again, prices will probably rocket as cash floods back into the system, so the flattening of prices isn't going to be permanent. At that point demand will outstrip supply significantly and it becomes a sellers market again. If you're sat on a player who could probably sell for £100M next summer, would you sell him for half that this year?

Sancho might fall into the same boat. Whether he's truly "worth" £100M+ is one thing, but that's certainly what he costs. I don't see United paying that much, but then I don't see Dortmund cutting the price much either. So we'll probably end up with a stalemate.

 

[Zehner]

For your first point: I don’t think he’d go for 50 this summer. I would however expect him to go for around that if he had one year left on his contract. I would expect him to go for 70-90 this summer. Also, your point about assets does not take into consideration that this particular investment is bound by time. At a certain point in time (summer 2023) this asset will be worth zero to Dortmund, and with every passing day this point gets closer.

To your second point: It’s easier for Chelsea to stand firm and get that kind of price for Hazard because they don’t need the money as much as Dortmund do. If Real walked away and Chelsea kept him and let him go on a free it wouldn’t have been as big a deal as it would be for Dortmund. An essential part of their business model is selling on players for profit: this is not insulting but is simply a fact that even they admitted is part of their strategy. If Jadon Sancho left Dortmund in 2 years on a free then I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have considered that scenario to have gone to plan.

And risk running his contract down? There's no way he'll sign an extension and he's only got 2 years left.

The way I see it: What's the mechanism that leads to players being sold for less in their last year of contract? It's the risk of the player leaving for free.

IMO there are three scenarios in which this risk becomes real:

1) The player wants to move to one club and this club only. So much that he's willing to stay for another year if the interested club isn't willing to pay the full sum.
2) There is only one interested club. In this case it's not important if the player wants to leave immediately, the interested club can just play the waiting game. However, this strains the relationship with the player since he feels undervalued.
3) There are multiple interested clubs but they refuse to go into a bidding war so that the lucky winner saves money. In this case the player's will isn't important either, he has to wait the additional year to get his move.

I think the third scenario is just a theoretical one. This situation doesn't occur in real life due to game theory. Elite clubs won't remain solidary to each other - instead one would try to outbid the others slightly and thus start a bidding competition - and this will again lead to a market price.

In Sancho's case I also can't imagine the first scenario. If he is really forced to stay longer than until 2021, he'll leave at the first chance to join a top club.

I also can't imagine the second one. There will definitely be more than one interested club. If things continue the way they currently take place with Hazard, Real Madrid will be looking for a replacement. Barca might be looking for a Barca replacement. Liverpool will be interested too. Basically every top club would be willing to secure a prospect like Sancho.

So IMO, Dortmund don't have to fear the risk of losing Sancho for free. They can bet on Sancho's eagerness to move and they can also bet on a top club being interested.

 

[Artorias]

Most likely he will go for £70M.
Dortmund waiting game failed. Is like what happened to Napoli with Savic situation. Nobody will pay the amount they want and will be settle for less at the end.

 

[hubbuh]

The way I see it: What's the mechanism that leads to players being sold for less in their last year of contract? It's the risk of the player leaving for free.

IMO there are three scenarios in which this risk becomes real:

1) The player wants to move to one club and this club only. So much that he's willing to stay for another year if the interested club isn't willing to pay the full sum.
2) There is only one interested club. In this case it's not important if the player wants to leave immediately, the interested club can just play the waiting game. However, this strains the relationship with the player since he feels undervalued.
3) There are multiple interested clubs but they refuse to go into a bidding war so that the lucky winner saves money. In this case the player's will isn't important either, he has to wait the additional year to get his move.

I think the third scenario is just a theoretical one. This situation doesn't occur in real life due to game theory. Elite clubs won't remain solidary to each other - instead one would try to outbid the others slightly and thus start a bidding competition - and this will again lead to a market price.

In Sancho's case I also can't imagine the first scenario. If he is really forced to stay longer than until 2021, he'll leave at the first chance to join a top club.

I also can't imagine the second one. There will definitely be more than one interested club. If things continue the way they currently take place with Hazard, Real Madrid will be looking for a replacement. Barca might be looking for a Barca replacement. Liverpool will be interested too. Basically every top club would be willing to secure a prospect like Sancho.

So IMO, Dortmund don't have to fear the risk of losing Sancho for free. They can bet on Sancho's eagerness to move and they can also bet on a top club being interested.

But your initial comment was 'They could still keep him'. A scenario in which Dortmund keep Sancho would be because they are charging more than anyone is willing to pay. If that happens this summer and he doesn't leave, he has one year left on his contract next summer. In that scenario, they are at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to negotiations. Dortmund aren't United, their star players are assets that they cash in on when their value is at its highest. It's why the majority of United fans are expecting about £50 million (max) from any potential Pogba sale this year. I also think you're underestimating the financial feckpie most teams find themselves in, Dortmund included. Real Madrid and Barcelona aren't about to spend $100m+ on Sancho, it just isn't going to happen. They'll be more than happy to sit it out and wait for his contract to run down. The teams that'll be able to sign him for money will be the English teams but the fact of the matter is Dortmund aren't in a particularly strong position with regards to the Sancho situation and they'll be well aware of that.

 

[cyberman]

By the time the transfer window opens in June we will know just how effective the vaccines are. We will probably know by then if crowds will be back in Aug.

The timescale in the EU for the full vaccination program is by September I think? And thats without any hiccups and then theres the massive recession we will fall under regardless
The whole they can ask 120m for him because everybody will be up and running again next year you arrogant Utd supporter was always madness. Clubs reserves are wiped out, we are all playing catchup.

 

[NYAS]

The way I see it: What's the mechanism that leads to players being sold for less in their last year of contract? It's the risk of the player leaving for free.

IMO there are three scenarios in which this risk becomes real:

1) The player wants to move to one club and this club only. So much that he's willing to stay for another year if the interested club isn't willing to pay the full sum.
2) There is only one interested club. In this case it's not important if the player wants to leave immediately, the interested club can just play the waiting game. However, this strains the relationship with the player since he feels undervalued.
3) There are multiple interested clubs but they refuse to go into a bidding war so that the lucky winner saves money. In this case the player's will isn't important either, he has to wait the additional year to get his move.

I think the third scenario is just a theoretical one. This situation doesn't occur in real life due to game theory. Elite clubs won't remain solidary to each other - instead one would try to outbid the others slightly and thus start a bidding competition - and this will again lead to a market price.

In Sancho's case I also can't imagine the first scenario. If he is really forced to stay longer than until 2021, he'll leave at the first chance to join a top club.

I also can't imagine the second one. There will definitely be more than one interested club. If things continue the way they currently take place with Hazard, Real Madrid will be looking for a replacement. Barca might be looking for a Barca replacement. Liverpool will be interested too. Basically every top club would be willing to secure a prospect like Sancho.

So IMO, Dortmund don't have to fear the risk of losing Sancho for free. They can bet on Sancho's eagerness to move and they can also bet on a top club being interested.

That’s all well and good, but doesn’t really address my main point, which was that Sancho will definitely be cheaper next summer than this summer. Would Dortmund want to risk that?

 

[rotherham_red]

The way I see it: What's the mechanism that leads to players being sold for less in their last year of contract? It's the risk of the player leaving for free.

IMO there are three scenarios in which this risk becomes real:

1) The player wants to move to one club and this club only. So much that he's willing to stay for another year if the interested club isn't willing to pay the full sum.
2) There is only one interested club. In this case it's not important if the player wants to leave immediately, the interested club can just play the waiting game. However, this strains the relationship with the player since he feels undervalued.
3) There are multiple interested clubs but they refuse to go into a bidding war so that the lucky winner saves money. In this case the player's will isn't important either, he has to wait the additional year to get his move.

I think the third scenario is just a theoretical one. This situation doesn't occur in real life due to game theory. Elite clubs won't remain solidary to each other - instead one would try to outbid the others slightly and thus start a bidding competition - and this will again lead to a market price.

In Sancho's case I also can't imagine the first scenario. If he is really forced to stay longer than until 2021, he'll leave at the first chance to join a top club.

I also can't imagine the second one. There will definitely be more than one interested club. If things continue the way they currently take place with Hazard, Real Madrid will be looking for a replacement. Barca might be looking for a Barca replacement. Liverpool will be interested too. Basically every top club would be willing to secure a prospect like Sancho.

So IMO, Dortmund don't have to fear the risk of losing Sancho for free. They can bet on Sancho's eagerness to move and they can also bet on a top club being interested.

The problem with your logic is that Real and Barca are undertaking very expensive stadium renovations in the middle of a financially crippling pandemic and have already had very well established cash flow issues. Barca had the chance to alleviate this somewhat by letting Messi go but they foolishly chose not to. While Liverpool and FSG don't spend massively unless they are moving a big player on. They did it with Torres when they got Suarez and Carroll, and they did it with Coutinho when Allison, Fabinho, and VVD came in (we won't talk about the horror show of what they did with the Suarez sale proceeds). Even then, they don't tend to shop at the top end of the market. Mane, Salah and Firmino collectively cost a third of the Coutinho sale for example.

Logically speaking, there really isn't really any other team who might be in a position to buy him. PSG maybe the other one, but I don't see him wanting to go to France when his big aim has been to go back to England.

 

[croadyman]

Diallo is in the europa league squad. If he gets game time and impresses then i doubt Sancho transfer would happen. Funds will be limited this summer as they are for all clubs. I've said it before, can see Ole buying a CB, backup RB potentially a CF this summer.

Would agree with the first two but would swap the last one for a CDM and keep on Cavani as CF for another year

 

[Judas]

Think we will sign him for £80m thereabouts.

Yep. 70/80m around that I think.

The talk of us offering 50m for him and being all take it or leave it so hilariously daft.

 

[Zehner]

But your initial comment was 'They could still keep him'. A scenario in which Dortmund keep Sancho would be because they are charging more than anyone is willing to pay. If that happens this summer and he doesn't leave, he has one year left on his contract next summer. In that scenario, they are at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to negotiations. Dortmund aren't United, their star players are assets that they cash in on when their value is at its highest. It's why the majority of United fans are expecting about £50 million (max) from any potential Pogba sale this year. I also think you're underestimating the financial feckpie most teams find themselves in, Dortmund included. Real Madrid and Barcelona aren't about to spend $100m+ on Sancho, it just isn't going to happen. They'll be more than happy to sit it out and wait for his contract to run down. The teams that'll be able to sign him for money will be the English teams but the fact of the matter is Dortmund aren't in a particularly strong position with regards to the Sancho situation and they'll be well aware of that.

Should maybe have made it more clear but I was referring to the scenario that Sancho (against expectations) won't move this summer. As I said, I think the only reason players are cheaper in their last year is the risk that they could go for free and I don't see that with Sancho. Moreover, prices are very likely to raise until summer 2022. This would also speak against selling him under value this summer.

But you're right, Corona obviously hit football clubs badly and I don't think we'll see a transfer for >100m € either. But he still won't be cheap.

That’s all well and good, but doesn’t really address my main point, which was that Sancho will definitely be cheaper next summer than this summer. Would Dortmund want to risk that?

That was kind of my point, I don't think he'll be cheaper next summer than he is this one for the reasons described in my post. Especially since prices will rise again from 2021 to 2022.

The problem with your logic is that Real and Barca are undertaking very expensive stadium renovations in the middle of a financially crippling pandemic and have already had very well established cash flow issues. Barca had the chance to alleviate this somewhat by letting Messi go but they foolishly chose not to. While Liverpool and FSG don't spend massively unless they are moving a big player on. They did it with Torres when they got Suarez and Carroll, and they did it with Coutinho when Allison, Fabinho, and VVD came in (we won't talk about the horror show of what they did with the Suarez sale proceeds). Even then, they don't tend to shop at the top end of the market. Mane, Salah and Firmino collectively cost a third of the Coutinho sale for example.

Logically speaking, there really isn't really any other team who might be in a position to buy him. PSG maybe the other one, but I don't see him wanting to go to France when his big aim has been to go back to England.

I think it's possible that United is the only interested team this summer. But my post was intended to showcase that Dortmund has different options than to sell him under his value in 2021. If United try to low ball Dortmund they could as well speculate that there'll be more interests in 2022 and that prices will climb until then. Because in 2022, Barca will be going into their second year after Messi. PSG might have a free spot after Mbappe has gone. Madrid might be trying to replace Hazard. Cristiano will be 37 at that point so Juve might look for a marquee signing, too.

I mean, it's very hard to predict. But if the offers coming in this year are really that underwhelming (people were suggesting ~50m €) then I can absolutely see Dortmund holding on to him for another year. Because that sum is definitely imaginable in 2022, too.

 

[Tallis]

It depends on how well Amad settles. If he shows promise this season, I don’t think our board will spend €100m on Sancho.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Leaking rumors about Dortmund accepting 100M at this point means we can get him for 80M without a doubt. If we play it well I think even 70M will do it. They are losing money big time and while they can offload players the only 2 that can give them a huge fee are Haaland and Sancho.

If I were them I would look to sell Haaland this year, his 50M sell on clause kicks on next year so it makes way more sense to let him leave on this window and let teams fight for his signature. Definitely a 100M+ plus player. But I think they wont, they will sell Sancho and there the scenario totally changes.

Most teams that can afford him either already have the RW/LW covered such as Bayern with Sane and Gnaby, PSG with Neymar and Mbappe, Liverpool with Salah and Mane or I just dont see them spending big money for him. Juve isnt really playing with wingers at the moment, Madrid could use him but I think they will go for Mbappe/Haaland. Barca is out of the race theyre broke, I don't think Atletico is interested in him and I cant imagine Sancho returning back to City.

That basically leaves us and Chelsea as viable options. Chelsea just spent huge money on their attack so I think theyre less prone to spend big on the same position again. Dortmund feck it big time last summer, their economic situation has put them against the wall and with Sancho's performances slowing down I dont think they could say no to a 70M offer is the window was about to close and it was a take it or leave it offer.

 

[NYAS]

Should maybe have made it more clear but I was referring to the scenario that Sancho (against expectations) won't move this summer. As I said, I think the only reason players are cheaper in their last year is the risk that they could go for free and I don't see that with Sancho. Moreover, prices are very likely to raise until summer 2022. This would also speak against selling him under value this summer.

But you're right, Corona obviously hit football clubs badly and I don't think we'll see a transfer for >100m € either. But he still won't be cheap.



That was kind of my point, I don't think he'll be cheaper next summer than he is this one for the reasons described in my post. Especially since prices will rise again from 2021 to 2022.



I think it's possible that United is the only interested team this summer. But my post was intended to showcase that Dortmund has different options than to sell him under his value in 2021. If United try to low ball Dortmund they could as well speculate that there'll be more interests in 2022 and that prices will climb until then. Because in 2022, Barca will be going into their second year after Messi. PSG might have a free spot after Mbappe has gone. Madrid might be trying to replace Hazard. Cristiano will be 37 at that point so Juve might look for a marquee signing, too.

I mean, it's very hard to predict. But if the offers coming in this year are really that underwhelming (people were suggesting ~50m €) then I can absolutely see Dortmund holding on to him for another year. Because that sum is definitely imaginable in 2022, too.

Honestly your scenario would be a unicorn in the history of football transfers. I just don’t see it happening. Dortmund and Sancho can’t be compared to Chelsea and Hazard. They need the money. It’s a negotiating position. It’s about leverage. If they get an offer of 70 this summer they are simply not going to reject it on the assumption that they’d also get 70 for him with one year left. That kind of move is only done by clubs who can afford to let a player run his contract down. For a club who’s business model largely operates on high-value player sales, it would be borderline negligent risk management.

Edit: I should repeat again that doesn’t mean I think he’ll go for 50 this summer. I think minimum this summer is 70.

 

[Zehner]

Honestly your scenario would be a unicorn in the history of football transfers. I just don’t see it happening. Dortmund and Sancho can’t be compared to Chelsea and Hazard. They need the money. It’s a negotiating position. It’s about leverage. If they get an offer of 70 this summer they are simply not going to reject it on the assumption that they’d also get 70 for him with one year left. That kind of move is only done by clubs who can afford to let a player run his contract down. For a club who’s business model largely operates on high-value player sales, it would be borderline negligent risk management.

Edit: I should repeat again that doesn’t mean I think he’ll go for 50 this summer. I think minimum this summer is 70.

70 is a different story. I think it's the sum when temptation begins. As I said, my initial post was in response to others suggesting 50 or less.

But we'll see eventually.

 

[romufc]

Should maybe have made it more clear but I was referring to the scenario that Sancho (against expectations) won't move this summer. As I said, I think the only reason players are cheaper in their last year is the risk that they could go for free and I don't see that with Sancho. Moreover, prices are very likely to raise until summer 2022. This would also speak against selling him under value this summer.

But you're right, Corona obviously hit football clubs badly and I don't think we'll see a transfer for >100m € either. But he still won't be cheap.

How do you expect Dortmund to raise funds to improve?

Historically, they are a selling club, they sell one player and buy 2/3 to improve the squad, they do not have the same finances as other clubs where they can just spend money.

Last 2 seasons, they haven't sold anyone and spent alot of money getting in Sancho, Can, Bellingham and Haaland. There are reports about their debt growing.

Their main assets to sell are Haaland and Sancho. One is on a relatively low buy out and the other wants to leave?

 

[bsCallout]

I'm just not sure I want him here. 70/80m will be much better spent elsewhere.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

He's better than Haaland and Mbappe I believe.

feck


ME!

 

[2 man midfield]

Highly doubt they'd sell us both but feck me we'd be sorted. No other signings this summer, just put £150m on the table and see if they bite.

 

[Stacks]

feck


ME!

this guy is SUPER biased. forget that Mbappe has 137 goals and 77 career assists (212 apps) 214 G + A total including 38 G+A in 40 CL games (including one top scoring campaign), top scoring on the way to t world cup win, "the eye test" suggests Jadon is actually better.

 

[Stacks]

Highly doubt they'd sell us both but feck me we'd be sorted. No other signings this summer, just put £150m on the table and see if they bite.

no we wouldn't. our biggest problem is ANYONE can score past us. We are top scorers in the league and had no issue scoring in Europe having scored against RB 5 times for example. Dortmund are not suddenly sorted with him AND Haaland in their side. He is not Messi. We need to sort our our spine. We need our Terry/Rio - Makelele/Essien - Drogba etc. The spine of the team needs to be top class first.

 

[spiriticon]

Not worth £100 million for me anymore. Not even £80 million. It's not because he's suddenly become shit, but it's because we now have 2 young and very expensive RWs probably going to fight for a place in the first team within the next couple of years.

What we need now is an experienced RW signing on either a short term contract, or ready to take a step down within the next couple of years.

Douglas Costa I guess?

 

[Member 101269]

I assume you haven't been keeping up with the news. With the COVID variants doing the rounds and new ones mutating, I doubt crowds will be back in the stadiums this year, certainly not in full capacity. They have already found variants they know are reducing the efficacy of vaccines.
And crowds are only one part of the story, with all businesses taking the hit across the board, don't be surprised if our existing contracts are being renegotiated with a lower value. Force Majeure is a thing in the business world for a reason. Not to mention any new contracts may also be reduced in value.

I said 2021/22 season crowds will be back in march/april/may 2020. Given the state of things i just cannot see us back until 2022 by which time liquidity will be shot. hopefully united keep clearing out the expensive old guard and will be well positioned.. interesting times.

i wouldn't pay over 50-60m for him.

 

[Zehner]

How do you expect Dortmund to raise funds to improve?

Historically, they are a selling club, they sell one player and buy 2/3 to improve the squad, they do not have the same finances as other clubs where they can just spend money.

Last 2 seasons, they haven't sold anyone and spent alot of money getting in Sancho, Can, Bellingham and Haaland. There are reports about their debt growing.

Their main assets to sell are Haaland and Sancho. One is on a relatively low buy out and the other wants to leave?

Oh they will sell eventually, no doubt. It's just about the point in time. Basically the only thing I'm arguing is that they'll wait until next year if they don't receive a reasonably high offer.

this guy is SUPER biased. forget that Mbappe has 137 goals and 77 career assists (212 apps) 214 G + A total including 38 G+A in 40 CL games (including one top scoring campaign), top scoring on the way to t world cup win, "the eye test" suggests Jadon is actually better.

I've been saying that Mbappe isn't as big of a talent as he's generally rated before I even knew Sancho existed. Mbappe has his qualities, no doubt, but his technique is rather raw and inconsistent sometimes. His close control and short passing aren't elite tier, Sancho's are. Thing with Mbappe is that he had enormous pace and incredibly mature decision making for his age.

Sancho on the other hand isn't far off Neymar in those aspects. Actually he's already more productive than Neymar the same age although he plays in a much better league. And Neymar, despite not really utilizing his full potential, is a better player than Mbappe most likely ever will be.

And by the way, Sancho isn't far off Mbappe although he's occupied much more in the build up of attacks and the creation of chances, while playing in a less dominant team. 33 goals, 48 assists in 95 games of professional football. 0.85 scorers per game compared to Mbappe's 1.0.

 

[2 man midfield]

no we wouldn't. our biggest problem is ANYONE can score past us. We are top scorers in the league and had no issue scoring in Europe having scored against RB 5 times for example. Dortmund are not suddenly sorted with him AND Haaland in their side. He is not Messi. We need to sort our our spine. We need our Terry/Rio - Makelele/Essien - Drogba etc. The spine of the team needs to be top class first.

Would be fun though. Imagine winning 4-3 every week.

 

[GazTheLegend]

No club will pay €100m for a player in the next transfer window.

This, this, this.

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that people still don't quite "get" the effect of this virus on football.

Barcelona are going to approach one BILLION euros worth of debt - currently at 700m.
Real Madrid are in 900M worth of debt. That's two of the big superpowers in real trouble of insolvency.

We are £110 million pounds down -per season- solely on the gate

If every club survives this pandemic it would be a miracle at this point. Its unreasonable and basically delusional to imagine football immediately going back to the days of £100million being spent on players. Only Manchester City and Chelsea can, and that's solely because their money comes from outside football. It would be irresponsible at this point to spend a penny without knowing the future of fans at football.

 

[RedDevilzFox]

I said 2021/22 season crowds will be back in march/april/may 2020. Given the state of things i just cannot see us back until 2022 by which time liquidity will be shot. hopefully united keep clearing out the expensive old guard and will be well positioned.. interesting times.

i wouldn't pay over 50-60m for him.

I don't think I "quoted" your post in my reply, but no harm done.

I agree this year I cannot see crowd returning to stadiums. Assuming things normalize next year, the "recovery" phase will begin which I expect will take another couple of years. Those thinking things will be back to the days of wild spending are misguided.

 

[Leftback99]

This, this, this.

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that people still don't quite "get" the effect of this virus on football.

Barcelona are going to approach one BILLION euros worth of debt - currently at 700m.
Real Madrid are in 900M worth of debt. That's two of the big superpowers in real trouble of insolvency.

We are £110 million pounds down -per season- solely on the gate

If every club survives this pandemic it would be a miracle at this point. Its unreasonable and basically delusional to imagine football immediately going back to the days of £100million being spent on players. Only Manchester City and Chelsea can, and that's solely because their money comes from outside football. It would be irresponsible at this point to spend a penny without knowing the future of fans at football.

I remember saying in September that clubs were taking a risk spending what they did then. They were gambling that they'd have some fans back as early as October. You only have to look at a January to see the effect.

And then there was the "Sancho will only be more expensive this summer" crowd complaining that we didn't stump up €120m or even "whatever it takes".

 

[GazTheLegend]

I remember saying in September that clubs were taking a risk spending what they did then. They were gambling that they'd have some fans back as early as October. You only have to look at a January to see the effect.

And then there was the "Sancho will only be more expensive this summer" crowd complaining that we didn't stump up €120m or even "whatever it takes".

Indeed. Even taking on another wage of a player on a -free- is money that clubs really, genuinely CANNOT afford to do right now, hence the majority of the moves being loans in the last two windows. This summer, with pretty much 100% certainty, I can say there will be some extremely surprising free transfers as clubs move toward mitigating what could be irreparable damage to their futures. Some clubs (Juventus, I am looking at you) have been running at 70% wages-to-revenue and their players even agreed to play with no wages for a few months last summer I believe. That's clearly unsustainable in the long term - what player of that level is going to play for free next season?

 

[Stacks]

Oh they will sell eventually, no doubt. It's just about the point in time. Basically the only thing I'm arguing is that they'll wait until next year if they don't receive a reasonably high offer.




I've been saying that Mbappe isn't as big of a talent as he's generally rated before I even knew Sancho existed. Mbappe has his qualities, no doubt, but his technique is rather raw and inconsistent sometimes. His close control and short passing aren't elite tier, Sancho's are. Thing with Mbappe is that he had enormous pace and incredibly mature decision making for his age.

Sancho on the other hand isn't far off Neymar in those aspects. Actually he's already more productive than Neymar the same age although he plays in a much better league. And Neymar, despite not really utilizing his full potential, is a better player than Mbappe most likely ever will be.

And by the way, Sancho isn't far off Mbappe although he's occupied much more in the build up of attacks and the creation of chances, while playing in a less dominant team. 33 goals, 48 assists in 95 games of professional football. 0.85 scorers per game compared to Mbappe's 1.0.

Doesn't matter if you are a bit raw. its all about impact. Drogba wasn't as neat and tidy as some strikers but he was still better due to the impact on his team. Not all about finesse lad.

 

[Stacks]

Would be fun though. Imagine winning 4-3 every week.

to be honest it would be

 

[croadyman]

This, this, this.

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that people still don't quite "get" the effect of this virus on football.

Barcelona are going to approach one BILLION euros worth of debt - currently at 700m.
Real Madrid are in 900M worth of debt. That's two of the big superpowers in real trouble of insolvency.

We are £110 million pounds down -per season- solely on the gate

If every club survives this pandemic it would be a miracle at this point. Its unreasonable and basically delusional to imagine football immediately going back to the days of £100million being spent on players. Only Manchester City and Chelsea can, and that's solely because their money comes from outside football. It would be irresponsible at this point to spend a penny without knowing the future of fans at football.

Yeah this is exactly why clubs who want to spend will have to sell their best assets which in our case would be Pogba & Martial in order to fund moves for other players, if Utd have no intention of doing that then cannot really see anything more than a backup RB and possibly Milenkovic coming in this summer.

 

[Zehner]

Doesn't matter if you are a bit raw. its all about impact. Drogba wasn't as neat and tidy as some strikers but he was still better due to the impact on his team. Not all about finesse lad.

But it matters if you screw up attacks or set up counters for the opponent or can't break low blocks because you're not good enough in tight spaces.

And Drogba is a weird choice. The guy is probably not even a top 20 striker in the last 20 years.

 

[stevoc]

I think £60-70m would be fair for Sancho and a good deal for us and Dortmund. No club is shelling out £80-100m on one player this summer i wouldn't imagine.

 

[Member 101269]

I don't think I "quoted" your post in my reply, but no harm done.

I agree this year I cannot see crowd returning to stadiums. Assuming things normalize next year, the "recovery" phase will begin which I expect will take another couple of years. Those thinking things will be back to the days of wild spending are misguided.

No you didn’t quote it. I was implying I agree with your view and have done for a long time.

In terms of normality, I’m just not convinced things will go back to normal. There is a lot of damage done to economies.

 

[theklr]

Still worth 75m+ .

 

[Stacks]

But it matters if you screw up attacks or set up counters for the opponent or can't break low blocks because you're not good enough in tight spaces.

And Drogba is a weird choice. The guy is probably not even a top 20 striker in the last 20 years.

Drogba
Ballon d'Or: 2004 (17th place),[239] 2005 (14th place),[240] 2006 (8th place),[241] 2007 (4th place),[242] 2008 (21st place),[243] 2009 (9th place)
FIFA Ballon d'Or: 2010 (9th place), 2012 (8th place)
FIFA World Player of the Year: 2005 (10th place), 2006 (6th place), 2007 (4th place), 2009 (6th place)
FIFPro World XI: 2007

 

[TsuWave]

irregardless

regardless breh, regardless

 

[Beachryan]

Then they'll leave it. They don't HAVE to sell him you know, especially for a pitiful amount like the one you suggested.

Honestly the arrogance of some on here is astounding. He has a bit of a drop in form (in a team playing badly overall) and suddenly they'll come crawling back on their knees begging for less than half the original asking price?

You probably think Michael Zorc should be made to kiss Ed & Ole's feet as well and shout 'I promise I will never deny thee great Manchester United, Lords of Football a player ever again!'

That's one way to look at it. Here's the other. I'll make a big list of 60m+ players that have been signed post-covid. Here it is:

I believe if United sell Pogba, it won't be for more than that either.

Sancho wants to leave, no other major club appears to be in competition for him, Dortmund need money and his performances up until recently have screamed of a player who had thought he could move in the summer.

So yes, they can keep an unhappy player, for a second consecutive year, potentially outside the CL. Of course they can. He has a contract. But is that what normally happens in football, especially when agents are involved?

 

[GledTheRed]

I agree. Also, in regards to his form, I said here multiple times, in a back and forth I had with another poster, the guy has been playing well for a while. This is supposed to be his poor season and the guy has 21 goal contributions in 25 games. And he's not even turned 21 years old yeah. 21 in 25 and it's supposed to mean "Sancho is not all that" or "Sancho is not worth" He's had back to back world class seasons, and is already one of the best in the world in his position, during what are supposed to be his formative years.

Incredible player. Exceptional talent.

I don't really think a substantial amount of the people posting here have been following him, and they simply just parrot what they've read a couple of times. United would be oh so lucky to have Sancho. Guy is better than all our attacking options and I would also have him before Halaand

Really?

World class?