Ed Woodward ‘willing’ to pay Jadon Sancho transfer fee but Man Utd playing poker with deal

Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward is still hopeful of a cut-price fee for Jadon Sancho, but Borussia Dortmund are not budging on their asking price for the England man.

Woodward and United famously missed out on Sancho’s signature last summer as they failed to agree a fee with Dortmund. And the Old Trafford supremo is risking a repeat scenario in 2021 by “playing poker” with the German club, according to reports from SportBild via Sport Witness.

Sancho enjoyed another sensational Bundesliga campaign last time out, scoring eight goals and racking up 11 assists in his 26 appearances.

And United still want the 21-year-old Englishman to add further spark to their attack.

But Woodward, who will leave his role at Old Trafford later in 2021, is holding out for a cheaper price than Dortmund are willing to accept.

“United would prefer a lower fixed sum and higher additional payments depending on the success situation – but the BVB bosses definitely do not want that,” the latest report in Bild explained.

And United have had an initial bid of £70million (€78m) rejected by Dortmund, who are holding out for a cash up-front deal, confident in their belief that Woodward is willing to pay the asking price eventually.

If Man Utd fail to sign Sancho then Cristiano Ronaldo is a possible short-term alternative, with the 36-year-old reportedly open to a return to the Premier League from Juventus.

Ronaldo would represent more of a centre-forward signing than Sancho, but his international team-mate Bruno Fernandes let slip that the pair often talk about Manchester during their time together in the Portugal camp, adding fuel to the transfer rumours.

“Every time I speak with him, he asks me how Manchester is and if everything is okay,” Fernandes revealed. “Everyone knows he spent a lot of time in Manchester and he has consideration for the club.

“He likes the club, I think he won his first Ballon d’Or here, so it’s a club who’ve marked him, for sure.”

However, former Manchester United defender and current pundit Rio Ferdinand does not think the Ronaldo deal will happen.

Ferdinand told The Sun that he believes a centre-back should be United’s primary transfer priority this summer.