Five reasons why Manchester United shouldn't sign Jadon Sancho

Until recently, several reports have suggested that the Premier League club is not interested to spend more than £50m on the player.

Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho is undoubtedly one of the hottest prospects in world football at the moment, with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris-Saint Germain and a host of other elite European sides keeping tabs on his progress. The former Manchester City youth product joined Dortmund in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since, having recorded 34 goals and 43 assists from just 99 appearances for the black and yellow's first-team till date.

Dortmund themselves seem to be preparing for Sancho's imminent exit, having signed Thorgan Hazard from Borussia Monchengladbach and Julian Brandt from Bayer Leverkusen in recent times. When the 2019-20 Bundesliga season resumed in May after the Coronavirus lockdown, Sancho was mostly used off the bench, indicating that a move could be on the cards for the youngster.

The English international is widely tipped for a move back to his home country in the upcoming summer transfer window, and as per reports from multiple sources, it is United and Chelsea who are currently leading in the race to sign him. The Red Devils, in particular, have looked really keen to have him on their books despite him being valued at over £100m, and their fans also seem to have assured themselves that the 20-year-old will make Old Trafford his home someday soon.

However, we are here to tell you that Manchester United signing Jadon Sancho could be a bad idea for the club, and we have our reasons as well. So read on!

5. Not a proven player in Premier League

Jadon Sancho has made a total of 143 appearances for his clubs till date - out of which he represented Manchester City in 35 matches across competitions in various levels. However, he is yet to play a game in the Premier League, which is why one could say that he is yet to prove his abilities in the English top-flight.

The 20-year-old did fair well in the U-18 Premier League and Premier League 2 with City in the 2016-17 season, but that would by no means indicate that he would do well in the senior level as well. His mediocre stint till date with the England national team is yet another indication to the fact that it is slightly early for Manchester United to assume that he will do well as soon as he joins them.

4. Sancho is still young and yet to prove his consistency

It goes without saying that Jadon Sancho has been one of the best performers in the German top-flight over the past couple of seasons. However, he is only 20 years old and it remains to be seen whether he can maintain his levels for the longer term.

Three years ago, the youngster was offloaded by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City as he did not seem to be good enough for the Spaniard. Furthermore, in his first season at Dortmund, Sancho managed only a solitary goal in twelve league appearances, which lowkey indicates that he takes quite some time to adapt to new conditions.

Sancho has also not been able to replicate his Bundesliga success in continental competitions like the Champions League, or the UEFA Nations League with England. This explains that it would be better if Manchester United can wait for him to prove his consistency first, before acquiring his signature in what would definitely be a big-money move. And that brings us to our next reason.

3. Highly expensive

In the pre-coronavirus transfer market, Jadon Sancho was valued at over £100m as mentioned earlier. In addition, the CIES Football Observatory's bi-annual report saw Sancho placed at third position among all of the world's currently active footballers, with a value of just over £160m. Borussia Dortmund themselves have named an asking price north of £90million for his sale - but if you ask us, he should not be valued this highly.

Such a high price would be fair for these - Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard and so on are a few names who fit this description. Sancho has proved that he has the potential to get there, but he is definitely not world-class at the moment.

It also goes without saying that the massive outbreak of Coronavirus and the subsequent global shutdown has played a devastating role in the football industry. Sky Sports reports that Dortmund themselves are expected to announce a loss of £41m to the German stock market due to games being played behind-closed-doors, which further proves that such a high valuation is unjustifiable for not just Sancho, but also for any other footballer in the post-Coronavirus transfer market.

If Manchester United agree to match BVB's asking price for the youngster, they will have to sell some of their own players to balance the books, or risk the possibility of getting crippled financially in the near future.

2. Inflated price tag when it comes to United-linked players

Considering the club's rich history, popularity among fans and high revenue, most players linked with Manchester United have an inflated price tag. Most clubs naturally start demanding a much higher fee than usual as soon as they understand that the Red Devils are keen to sign any of their players.

Let us review the case of one of their most recent signings, Bruno Fernandes. The former Sporting CP midfielder was valued at £30million last summer, when it was revealed that Tottenham Hotspur were interested to have him on their books. A few days later, Manchester United entered the transfer race and suddenly his value doubled and almost crossed the £70m mark.

United eventually signed him this January, for a reported fee of £50m, which is still higher. In Sancho's case too, it is likely that the Red Devils' keenness have played a role in his high asking price - which is why United should arguably say no to a deal at least for the time being.

Getting rid of their short-term problems would be a better idea right now for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and co, as it also gives them sufficient waiting time to see if Dortmund's stance on Sancho undergoes a change.

1. Home-grown talent and academy should come first for Manchester United

Manchester United signing a Manchester City youth product would be particularly unfair for the Red Devils' very own academy stars, including a certain Tathith Chong who is rumoured to be in the radar of several clubs inluding Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus.

The 19-year-old is also a right-wing specialist like Sancho, but so far he has been unable to create a lasting impression on Solskjaer and his management team at Old Trafford. This is mainly because of his lack of chances with the first-team - and hence, if Sancho joins them and goes right into the starting XI, it would be a case of downright injustice for the equally talented Chong.

By giving their own youth players more chances, the Red Devils could also save boatloads of money and instead spend it on areas that need more taking care of, such as a centre-back partner for Harry Maguire and so on.

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