Manchester United sign Jadon Sancho in Premier League statement of intent

Manchester United have announced that they’ve reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund over the transfer of Jadon Sancho (subject to medical, working fax machines, etc.), firing a massive and loud shot at the rest of the “top six” to signal their intentions for next season.

The 21-year-old is currently busy with the England team at Euro 2020, so the transfer won’t be officially official until they’re done there, but that’s surely just a formality.

The transfer fee is “fixed” at €85m, as per an official statement from Borussia Dortmund, with about 15 per cent of BVB’s profit, so about €11m, going to Sancho’s previous club, Manchester City.

United splashing the cash for the summer’s biggest deal (thus far) after a surprise second place finish certainly won’t go unnoticed by the rest of the league. None of the other “big” teams have made any moves of significance yet, in what is a constant arms race at the top. Leicester City have signed Patson Daka from Salzburg for about £28m, while Aston Villa have signed Emiliano Buendía from Norwich for about £5m more, but the only other noteworthy deal in the top of the half the table has been Liverpool finding a non-injured defender with Ibrahima Konaté (£35m).

Sancho leaving Borussia Dortmund and leaving behind sky-high stacks of cash will also make it much harder for any team to sign Erling Braut Haaland this summer, be that Real Madrid or Chelsea or whoever.