Dortmund agree Sancho transfer to Man Utd for 85 million euros

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund confirmed Thursday that they have agreed a deal to allow England winger Jadon Sancho to join Manchester United for a fee of 85 million euros ($100 million, £73 million).

In a statement, Dortmund said they had reached an agreement for the English club to pay a “fixed transfer fee of 85 million euros” for the 21-year-old.

“The contractual details now have to be coordinated and completed,” Dortmund said in their statement.

“Moreover, the formal processing of the transfer is still subject to the successful completion of all necessary medical tests and examinations.”

Dortmund did not give details on the length of the contract, but reports have said it would last five years.

Sancho will become the second most expensive English footballer when he joins United, who signed Harry Maguire two years ago from Leicester for £80 million.

United have been keen to bring Sancho to Old Trafford since last year.

After failing to meet Dortmund’s £100 million asking price last year, the Premier League club have been in protracted negotiations since the end of the season in a bid to tie up the transfer.

United’s initial £67 million offer was rejected but they improved the bid sufficiently to convince Dortmund to sell, albeit at a lower price than they wanted 12 months ago due to the financial fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic.

Sancho’s contract with Dortmund had been due to run to June 30, 2023 and his transfer is one of the most expensive in Bundesliga history.

The 100-million-euro mark had been smashed by the 2017 transfer of French forward Ousmane Dembele from Dortmund to Barcelona for 105 million euros.

Attacking midfielder Kai Havertz was transferred last summer for 80 million euros from Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea.

It will be a return to Manchester for the 21-year-old, who was a graduate of Manchester City’s academy before joining Dortmund in search of regular first-team action in 2017.

Even though Sancho never played a first-team game for them, City will be due around £10 million of the fee as a result of a 15 percent sell-on clause they had inserted in the deal when he left the Etihad Stadium. 

Sancho made 137 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund, scoring 50 goals as he established himself as one of Europe’s brightest young stars.

He scored twice in the German Cup final to inspire Dortmund to a 4-1 victory over RB Leipzig in May.

Sancho, who has won 20 caps for England since his debut in 2018, was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

He first came to prominence as part of England’s Under-17s World Cup-winning squad in 2017.

Sancho is currently on Euro 2020 duty with England, where he has made just one substitute appearance so far during his country’s run to the quarter-finals.