Manchester United are keeping their eyes open in case a summer deal for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho is not completed, and are believed to have added former Chelsea prospect Jeremie Boga to potential back-up plans.
United have been confident of signing Sancho for the last nine months, a story 90min first brought to you back in September. Even in the midst of the coronavirus crisis and the associated financial impact, the Old Trafford club haven’t given up hope of striking a deal.
United are better able to cope with the financial hit than most, but 90min revealed last month they are no longer willing to break the £100m barrier for Sancho.
United were previously willing to pay as much as £120m to sign the emerging superstar 20-year-old, who has managed 40 combined goals and assists in all competitions this season and would at last fill a longstanding void on the right flank at Old Trafford.
Now, club officials don’t see the deal as being quite as much in the current climate. They are still intent on signing Sancho and could yet set a new club transfer record of £90m or more, but £100m is considered too much. It relies on Dortmund lowering their demands or risk losing out on an enormous payday that will ultimately fund substantial strengthening of their own.
But despite the determination to get Sancho, it appears United are not putting all of their eggs in one basket. Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey has already been linked as one possible alternative and now ESPN suggests Jeremie Boga is another player on the radar as a back-up target.
The 23-year-old is described by ESPN as ‘very interested’ in the project on offer.
Boga is currently at Serie A club Sassuolo, for whom he has scored eight times and contributed four assists so far this season. He previously had a longstanding affiliation with Chelsea, having joined the youth ranks there at the age of 12 after moving to London with his family.
Although he only played once for the first-team, Boga remained a Chelsea player until as recently as 2018 when Sassuolo paid a reported £3.5m to sign him on a permanent deal.
Boga has spent time on loan at Rennes and Birmingham in the past, while he was also a teammate of United midfielder Andreas Pereira when both were on loan to Granada in La Liga in 2016/17.
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Source : 90min